


The Smoaking Gun

by Veli



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst and Humor, F/M, Humor, Romance, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-03
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-04-18 20:29:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 84,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4719389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veli/pseuds/Veli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver Queen is a former Navy Seal who is starting a new life as a civilian. He has opened a private investigation firm and is looking to hire an assistant. </p><p>Felicity Smoak, MIT-graduate and computer-wiz, applies for the job. She’s clearly over-qualified, and Oliver doesn’t think she’ll actually take the job, but he’s curious to see the girl with the stellar profile, and calls her in for an interview.</p><p>Oliver soon discovers that not only is she as good as her papers claim – she’s also dead serious about wanting the job. She needs it for reasons she isn’t disclosing. Oliver is intrigued – and not a little fascinated by the girl - and he decides to hire her. He knows she’ll be an asset to the firm, but he’s also convinced that she’s hiding something and is dead set on finding out what. He is after all a detective - and she has just become his favorite mystery!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> My second fic - I finally found time to get to it. It's been in my head for a while and I'm happy to finally be writing it down :-) I hope it's enjoyable...
> 
> So, this time around it's an AU, where Oliver is a former Navy SEAL, turned PI and Felicity is an IT-expert (of course) who's hired as he's assistant/ tech support.
> 
> The story I have in mind is kind of fluffy and romantic - but let's see how it plays out... :-)

The girl was scrawny and scruffy-looking. Her face was obscured by masses of black hair, her slight body shrouded in black as well. She was more street urchin than MIT-graduate, he thought, as the girl walked towards him. 

A second glance revealed that the scruffiness was deceptive. She was in fact quite well groomed and the somewhat distressed look was obviously deliberate. 

Her black hair was that oddly uniform color that spoke of a cheap dye job, but it was clean, well cut and clearly styled to look slightly tousled. Her eyes under the delicately arched brows were intelligent, and a startling shade of blue – made the more so by the heavy black make-up stuff she had smeared around them. 

Her mouth was full and perfectly shaped, with plump lips, tinted a deep red, so dark it was almost black. 

Her skin was a glaring contrast to all the black. It was flawless, creamy and silky-soft looking.

She wore skintight black jeans, slightly torn in places, providing brief glimpses of that creamy skin when she moved. The jeans ended in a pair of scuffed, black combat boots.

The rest of her slender but otherwise indeterminate frame was obscured by layers of more black. A heavy knit charcoal sweater, and what looked like the collar of a black dress-shirt peeking up at the neckline. The whole ensemble was topped by a black leather jacket. A battered looking messenger bag in cognac-colored leather was slung across her body.

Overall, she was someone that he wouldn’t have looked at twice had he passed her in the street. 

But this was his office, and she was here for a job-interview. That circumstance alone made her choice of clothes and make-up stand out. 

Moreover, he had read her file – cover to cover – several times now, and nothing in there had prepared him for this girl. She was certainly not what he had expected from a MIT-graduate. 

And she wasn’t just any graduate either. According to her application, and the additional information he had been able to dig up himself, she was something of an IT-genius. She had earned a full scholar-ship, graduated top of her class, and won several prizes for outstanding academic achievements.

In spite of being practically fresh out of school she already had several glowing recommendations on her resume - two from large IT-consulting companies and one from a tech-research company, all based on summer internships. In addition, she did free-lance IT-consulting to supplement her scholarship. 

She was by far the most qualified candidate for the position he was hiring for – in fact she was so over-qualified for the job as his PA and tech-support that he had decided to see her just out of curiosity. He fully expected her to run for the hills once she discovered what he was offering. 

After all, based on her credentials, he figured this girl should be sifting through offers from the best consulting or tech-development companies out there. Not applying for a low-wage job at his newly started, one-man show of a private investigation firm. 

He was definitely intrigued. And seeing her now, in person, just added to the mystery. 

With a jolt he realized that the girl had been scrutinizing him, while he had been studying her. 

Feeling slightly flustered as if he had been caught peeking, he quickly shook her hand. Hers felt very small in his, but she had a pleasantly firm handshake he noted.

“You’re Felicity Smoak?” He looked at her as if he expected her to disagree. She returned his look calmly, the hint of an amused smile playing around her lips. 

“Pleased to meet you Miss Smoak,” he said. “I’m Oliver Queen.” 

“Please have a seat Miss Smoak,” he said, indicating the designer chair facing his desk. The chair was all chrome and leather and surprisingly comfortable. It was the one pricey thing he had splurged on for his new office, figuring it would pay off to make future clients feel comfortable during interviews.

“So,” he continued, as the girl calmly took a seat, slipping the strap of the messenger bag over her head, and placing the bag on the floor by her feet. She looked up, once more pinning him with her clear blue gaze. 

He took a moment to gather his thoughts, while pretending to look through her file again. This girl – slight and unassuming as she looked – had an unnerving ability to rattle him, he realized. 

“Now, why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself,” he said, without looking up from the file in his hands. 

“Call me Felicity, please,” she said. Her voice, sweet and slightly husky, made him look up again. 

“Felicity,” he agreed, liking the way the name rolled off his tongue. ‘What an odd thing to notice,’ he though fleetingly, as he once again studied the face under the black hair.

“Well,” she said, “I think you have all the basics in my resume. I graduated MIT and have been free-lancing as an IT-consultant for a while now. I’ve recently moved to town, and am looking for work. I can take on any kind of IT-related work, and I’m pretty capable when it comes to fixing any type of tech-equipment too. I’ve been taking apart electronics and putting them back together again all my life,” she added with a small laugh. 

“Yes, your resume is quite impressive,” he said indicating the file on his desk. “In fact, I have to say I’m surprised that a girl with your background would apply for this job.” He paused to look at her. 

“I mean, I’m looking for someone who can handle my day-to-day administration and offer the IT-support that’s needed for my business – which, as you know, is investigation – but it’s likely to be very basic IT-support compared to what you’ve done so far.” 

The girl was still looking at him calmly. She was clearly not surprised at his description of the job. 

“And at the risk of sounding like I’m trying to run you off,” he chuckled, “there is also the matter of the salary. I’m sure someone with your resume could easily land a big job with a major research company for about three times the salary that I’m able to offer. So…I’m curious. What made you apply here?” 

For the first time the girl looked slightly uncomfortable, he noticed. Her gaze shifted, and she fidgetted in her chair. 

“I’m not interested in a corporate job and tons of money,” she finally said. “I love what I do and I just want to be able to do it quietly and make enough to support myself.” 

It didn’t escape him that she hadn’t really answered his question, but he was willing to let it go for now. 

“You should know, that I’m a one-man business,” he said. “I do have an old navy-buddy who helps out from time to time, but mostly it’s just me – and whoever I end up hiring to help out. That’s a very small operation. And so far it’s been fairly hand-to-mouth, but I’ve built enough of a client base now, that I can afford to hire help. But the job is what it is – there’s no career-plan, no advancement-possibilities and no big bonus for a job well done at the end of the year. Are you sure that’s what you want to sign up for?”

The girl looked at him for a moment. Then she tilted her head slightly and gave him another one of those inscrutable Mona Lisa-smiles. “It sounds perfect!” she said. She suddenly flashed him a bright smile that completely knocked the wind out of him. 

Stunned, he studied her face, wondering what the catch was. He felt certain that something about her just didn’t add up. But she was also undoubtedly a scoop for his company, and that small voice in the back of his mind was yelling at him that if he were smart, he would just quit asking questions and get her signature on a contract before she changed her mind! 

He leaned back in his chair, pondering what to do. He wasn’t sure why, but for some reason he had a good feeling about this girl. He had no doubt she was hiding something, but he was also certain that she would fit nicely in his small operation. 

And honestly - he was fascinated by her. She was a mystery, and he just couldn’t resist a good mystery! It was part of the reason why he was so good at this job. And right now all his antennas told him that this girl presented a challenge that he just had to accept. For starters, the Goth-look she was sporting seemed off. He was willing to bet it wasn’t her natural inclination to work that look. And her whole demeanor of understated reserve seemed…unnatural too. Like she was playing a part for him. 

Yes, she was definitely a mystery. 

Making a quick decision, he knew that he had just found his new tech-girl - and his new hobby too: unraveling the mystery that was Felicity Smoak.


	2. Partners Against Crime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity is starting a new life, getting to know her new city - and her new boss!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all: thanks for all the feedback on my prologue - it means a lot and definitely makes me want to post more, more, more :-)
> 
> So,this is the first real chapter. Felicity and Oliver are just getting to know each other - and there's a LOT they don't know about each other. I wanted to continue this chapter endlessly, but i think I had better cut here and keep the next bit for chapter 2..so that should follow sometime during this week :-)

He was definitely not what she had expected. Not that she was entirely sure what she had expected, but Oliver Queen definitely wasn’t it! 

The man was in every way a surprise. Maybe she was just prejudiced because of all the detective shows she’d watched as a kid. In her mind, private investigators were grumpy, middle-aged men with potbellies and high blood pressure. But the man standing in front of her - giving her the once over - was the furthest thing from that stereotype. 

He was tall and well built - solid was the word that came to mind. His body looked hard and combat ready, even casually clad in jeans and a simple white dress shirt. His hair was sort of medium brown, maybe dark blonde, and he seemed to be growing out a buzz-cut. His jaw was covered in what she guessed was about a week’s worth of stubble. He had a very confident stance, and his gaze as his eyes met hers was direct and probing. His eyes were blue, she noticed. Very blue. 

In spite of his slightly rugged-preppy look, she got the impression that this man knew how to handle himself even in the most extreme situations. If she had met him under different circumstances she probably would have pegged him for a successful CEO, a man of power somehow. Or maybe a soldier – he had that physical awareness about him that spoke of a man who knew how to use his body. 

And he was so young! If she were to guess she’d say late twenties. Not that much older than she was. She tried to recall what the add had said, but realized that it really hadn’t said anything about the owner – only about the work. And being new in town she hadn’t had any idea who Oliver Queen was. She’d just assumed that he was a retired cop making a few extra bucks as a PI before full retirement. Everybody knew that was who PI’s were, right? Now she regretted not checking up on him. She hated being unprepared. 

But the interview had gone surprisingly well. Oliver Queen was obviously very intelligent and she quickly realized that she would have to stay on her toes around this man. He had asked some uncomfortable questions, but had seemed appeased by her evasive answers. And most importantly – he had offered her the job, effect of immediately! She had accepted of course. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that in accepting the job, she had also accepted a challenge. A challenge issued by the blue-eyed Mr. Queen, who kept looking at her as if he was trying to look under her skin. 

Still, Felicity had been thrilled. And relieved. Probably mainly relieved, she thought. After all, the job really wasn’t that exciting, but it was a necessary part of her new life. 

The first part of establishing a new life had been to relocate to the west coast. The move had been easier than she’d expected. She was surprised by how much she liked her new city, and she really loved the little apartment she had rented. It was small but cozy, and it had already become her safe haven. It was the one place where she felt at ease and relatively safe from the past. Not that she was about to let her guard down anytime soon, but she felt secure for the first time in months. She could finally breathe again. 

Now all she needed was time. Time to regroup and work out a strategy for solving this mess, so she could get her life back on track. And for that she needed this job. 

And two weeks into her new life - working with Oliver - she was beginning to fall into its simple and soothing rhythm: Get up in the morning, pick up a coffee at the little coffee-shop around the corner from the office, systematically work through the piles of stuff that Oliver hadn’t had time to get through and for which he had needed an assistant. 

She was starting to carve out a place for herself in their small two-person set-up. The work was easy – lots of research, gathering and analyzing data. Nothing very exciting - certainly not the assistant-part of her job. Felicity pulled a face at the thought of it. 

She hadn’t gone to MIT to end up answering phones and filing tax returns for a one-man business, but that just couldn’t be helped. For the moment she needed a low-profile job, just to make enough to pay the bills, and this job was better than waitressing – at least she still got her hands on a computer every day.

There had been some rough edges over the first two weeks of course. But that was to be expected she thought. Two strangers couldn’t work in such close proximity for eight or nine hours a day without having to make some adjustments. And over-all it had been minor issues. She found that they supplemented each other nicely, even if he did have a stubborn streak the size of a football field! 

Like the coffee. Felicity couldn’t help a small laugh at the thought of the on-going coffee-battle. It had started her very first day. Oliver had an old coffee maker in his office, and he seemed to be permanently attached to an old chipped mug, which at all times contained some measure of the black stuff he brewed. She couldn’t bring herself to call it coffee though. 

Her first morning in, he had offered her a cup, and she’d gratefully accepted. She was not a morning person and coffee was her friend in the morning. She had taken a big gulp of the cup he’d offered – and had very nearly choked as the awful flavor registered. It was very strong, very black and definitely brewed on sub-par beans – or the coffee maker had just managed to ruin them. Either way, she’d had to spit it back out, and tell him that the liquid he referred to as coffee had nothing to do with that noble brew. 

He’d been a little offended – okay, maybe a lot – but she’d insisted on demonstrating to him just how awful his ‘coffee’ was. She’d gone to the little coffee shop around the corner and picked up two cups of her favorite roast, and dared him to prefer his own concoction to the delicious, perfectly balanced, brew she’d bought for him. But the man was stubborn, as she’d noticed on several occasions. He insisted he couldn’t tell the difference and he kept drinking his own stuff. 

Felicity didn’t believe him for a second, and she couldn’t help feeling a little smug as he surreptitiously inhaled the aroma of her coffee every morning when he came in, and the face he pulled when he tasted his own. But so far he hadn’t caved. He still poured his own stuff even if his gaze did linger on her take-out paper cup. 

But most of the time things were smooth and they’d fallen into an easy rhythm of working together. 

She still didn’t know much about him though. Her initial surprise at the interview had caused her to do a thorough background check on the man, but she’d managed to turn up surprisingly little. 

She now knew that he was 28 years old, he had been a navy SEAL (she gave herself points for spotting his navy-background, even if she had thought it army). Apparently he had been part of a special ops task force. Obviously whatever he’d been tasked with while in the navy was sealed and she wasn’t about to poke around in that system – she was trying to lay low after all. 

She hadn’t been able to find out why, but for some reason he’d left the navy about six months ago, and had started his PI-business. 

His family, she’d discovered, was practically royalty in this city, but for some reason he hadn’t traded on that. In fact, it looked like he took no part in the family business, and he certainly hadn’t claimed any part of the fortune that came with his name. 

She’d found news paper stories about his parents’ tragic death in a plane crash a few years back, and lots of stories about his younger sister, who now seemed to be the only Queen carrying on the old Queen dynasty. 

She’d tried asking a few off-hand questions a couple of times in the past two weeks, but the man was clearly not one to spill his guts. She still didn’t know much about Oliver Queen. 

However, even if his background was a bit of a mystery, she had learned a few things about him as a person. He was smart, driven – and obviously very good at what he did. And most importantly - for some reason she felt that she could trust him.

So she’d settled into working for him, and found herself looking forward to going in to the office every morning. She hadn’t really realized how lonely it would be to move across country to a place where she knew no one, and she found it was nice having some place to go every day – and Oliver Queen wasn’t bad company either. 

No, not bad company at all. He had this thing about him - she wasn’t sure how to describe it. Maybe it was the way he looked at you when he talked to you. Like you were the sole focus of his attention, like you were the single most important thing in the universe. It was very, very… appealing. And of course the man was very easy to look at. Not that she was usually a sucker for good looks, but Oliver Queen was in a league of his own. And seemingly unaware of it. 

Felicity sighed as she tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear. She wasn’t proud of it, but she found herself wanting to primp a little more every day. To look her best for him. And it bothered her. She wasn’t here to attract attention – on the contrary. But sometimes she almost regretted the look she’d chosen as her cover. But that couldn’t be helped now, and it really wasn’t important she told herself, as she pulled up another fact sheet. 

She had just finished downloading a bank transaction for his latest case when Oliver called. Felicity stretched and worked out a few kinks in her neck, as she put him on speakerphone. 

“Felicity,” Oliver’s voice over the speaker sounded a bit scratchy with the sound of wind and traffic overlaying it. “I got a pretty good recording of the phone call,” he was saying, “but I really need to put eyes on him when he hands over the files. Is there any way you could trace this guy? His phone? Anything? I’m afraid I’ll lose him in this traffic.” 

He was working a surveillance job down town, following a subject. Oliver was hoping to get him on camera, she knew. 

“I can do better,” she said, already busy typing. “I’ve got the file your subject downloaded onto a flash-drive five minutes ago – I’m guessing that’s the one he’s about to hand over - and I found an encrypted email-correspondence between him and the buyer, specifying the location of their meeting. I’m texting you the address right now.”

The connection went silent. For a second Felicity thought he’d hung up, but then she heard the wind and traffic noise in the background.

“Oliver?” she said. “Are you still there?”

She heard a new noise. It sounded like he was clearing his throat. 

“Yes, I’m still here. I got the address – thanks,” he said, sounding a bit funny. “Look, I don’t know how you got this information, Felicity, but we’ll talk about that when I get back,” he said. “I’ve got to go.” This time the phone really did go silent.

“So…no fan of hacking then,” she mumbled to herself, as she hung up. She sighed and leaned back in the comfortable swivel chair that she’d already claimed as hers. She had been hoping to impress him. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she realized she might just have gone and done the opposite. 

The thing was, Oliver didn’t seem to grasp the full extend of what technology could accomplish these days, she’d discovered. Some of his requests over the past two weeks had been ridiculously simple, so she’d taken it upon herself to educate him on what she could do with a computer and decent wifi. Now she worried she might have taken it a step too far. She needed this job and she really, really hoped he wasn’t about to fire her.

Two hours later she looked up as Oliver walked through the door with a determined look on his face. As usual it didn’t tell her much though. She’d soon realized that this man was very hard to read. She suspected it was because he wanted it to be that way. It wasn’t exactly that he was hiding things, she thought, he just seemed to be a very private person. At times she thought he might have some dark secret in his past. On more than one occasion she had caught him with a brooding or lost look on his face, but he always recovered quickly and let his usual mask of ease fall back in place before she could ask any questions. 

Now he walked past her desk in the tiny front office – not much more than a cubicle really, but it did have a sliver of a window and a door separating it from his domain. He didn’t even look at her as he passed, and her stomach tied yet another knot on itself, in fear of what was to come. 

“My office, Felicity,” he said as he passed. “Now!”

 

***

 

Oliver dropped into the chair behind his desk, and ran a hand over his face. Then he studied his assistant for a minute as she sat down opposite him in ‘the client-chair’ as she’d dubbed it. She was her usual black-clad self, only slightly more defiant-looking right now – probably in preparation for the reproof she expected, he thought. 

“Did they teach you that at MIT?” he asked with no preamble. 

For a second she looked like she was about to play dumb, but apparently she thought better of it. 

“Look,” she said nervously. “I’m sorry – I thought it might help with the investigation, so I kind of peeked into his computer…his email, his files…” she trailed off. She looked ten kinds of guilty, he thought as he tried to suppress a grin. Yup! She’d definitely been caught with her hand in the cookie jar! 

“You mean you hacked his computer,” he said, still holding on to his stern-face. 

“No,” she protested, “I didn’t, I just peeked, I …” Then, with a sigh, she seemed to give up. “Yes, all right, I totally hacked it,” she admitted with a despondent look on her face. “But I did find some incriminating evidence, I think” she continued, a hopeful expression in her eyes. “I found some bank statements from an off-shore account, and there were some unusual transactions – and a large money transfer this morning.” 

“That’s good work Felicity,” he said, enjoying the surprised and very relieved look on her face. 

“So…I’m not fired then?” she asked in a small voice. 

“No, you’re not fired,” he laughed. “In fact, I wish I could give you a raise because I have a feeling that between the bank information and the retrieval of the file earlier today, you just closed this case for me, and this case alone pays the next three months’ rent!” 

He smiled at her warmly, and chuckled as she squirmed in her seat, clearly not sure how to respond to the unexpected praise.

“Now, what I want to know,” he continued, “is how come you didn’t do it sooner? And what else can you do? Seriously, did you learn that at MIT? Or is it like a hobby?” Oliver leaned forward and rested his chin in his hand as he studied the pale face under all that black hair. Not for the first time he wondered what color her hair really was. He was sure it wasn’t black. 

Felicity laughed and launched into an explanation of technical surveillance and things she could do to help him if he’d let her. He only understood a fraction of it, but the gist of it he got. She was more of an asset that he’d initially thought. She would be able to make his work a lot easier, and if he understood her correctly, she could probably eliminate some of the risks he was taking today.

She was growing animated as she went on and on about technical gadgets, and things he knew absolutely nothing of. He just enjoyed watching her in her element. He had a feeling that he was being treated to a rare glimpse of the real Felicity Smoak. 

“All right, all right” he interrupted her at last. “I think we may need to go shopping to get you some more equipment. You can start compiling a list of things you need, and make an estimate of costs please.” He shook his head in amazed amusement as she jumped up and headed towards the door, clearly eager to get started.

“Oh, and Felicity?” he said, in a softer tone of voice. “Maybe we just don’t mention how the information for this particular case was procured, huh? No need to put that in the client report really.” He winked at her and chuckled at the sudden rush of color to her cheeks. 

She smiled sheepishly and quickly closed the door to his office. 

He was still laughing quietly when he turned to the pile of letters waiting on his desk. On top was a cream colored envelope - an expensive looking piece of stationary, he thought, frowning as he turned it over looking for a sign of who might have sent it. The envelope was blank except for his name in print on the front. No postage either, so it must have been hand delivered. He could feel a single piece of paper sliding from side to side as he shook it. He slid a finger under the flap and ripped the envelope open. 

A stiff card fell out. An invitation for him and a guest to attend a gala benefit event that same evening. The event was hosted by the owner of a company that had hired him to look into a case of suspected corporate espionage two days ago. It slowly dawned on him that his client had mentioned an up-coming event. He hadn’t been paying much attention at the time, but it would be a great opportunity to get a closer look at some of the employees that his client had asked him to look into. 

It would seem that he needed to find a plus one to accompany him.

He thought for a second about who to ask – he had several female friends who would probably be more than happy to accompany him, but he quickly discarded that idea. This was work – not a date, and an actual date could prove to be an impediment. 

A sudden flash of inspiration made him get up and move to the front office. Felicity looked up from her screen as he walked out. 

“Felicity,” he said. “Do you have plans for the evening?” The minute the words left his mouth he realized that they could be misunderstood. He saw the look of surprise on her face, and quickly back-pedaled.

“I mean, would you mind working late tonight?” he asked. “I know this is a little out-side your job description, but I have to attend this benefit for a client tonight, and I need to bring a date. It’s an opportunity to learn more about the people I’m investigating – and I could use your technical expertise,” he finished, feeling a little flustered.

“Sure, no problem,” she said easily. She didn’t seem to be too disappointed about the non-date, he observed, reluctant to think further about why that bothered him. 

“What time do I need to be there? And where is it?” she added as an afterthought.

“It’s at a new venue down town in the financial district. I’ll give you the address, but why don’t I just pick you up at 7 and we’ll go together?” he said. 

“No, that’s okay,” she said, hurriedly. “I’m out of your way – I’ll just meet you there. At 7 you say?”

He looked at her closely, as she studiously kept her eyes averted. He got the distinct impression that she didn’t want him see where she lived, but he decided to let it go for now. 

“All right then,” he agreed. “We’ll meet out front of the building at 7 pm.” Then he looked her over again. “You know, I can get my sister to swing by with a few dresses you can try on?” he said. “It’s a black-tie event and she has loads of gala-attire.”

Felicity’s head whipped around, blue eyes blazing. 

“That’s not necessary,” she snapped. “I’ve got a dress. It’s not the first black-tie event I’ve been to, you know.” 

“Fine, relax – I didn’t mean to offend you,” he said. “I just meant that …You know, never mind.” He took a deep breath and studied her face, her creamy skin now sporting flaming red cheeks. Damn, there was no way to avoid this, he thought. She was going to hate him.

“Listen,” he said slowly. “Like I said, this is a gala event and the entire city elite is going to be there. We need to blend in. We don’t want to stand out if we want a shot at finding anything out tonight, okay?” he took another deep breath.

“So I’m going to need you to look a little more…conventional tonight.” She looked at him defiantly. She was really going to make him say it, he realized. 

“All right, then. To be blunt, I just can’t have you show up looking like the lost member of the Adams family, okay?” He felt like he was poking a sleeping bear. First thing you learned as a young man growing up in a household with women was never, ever criticize a woman’s choice of clothing or style. 

And as expected Felicity looked like she was about to strangle him. 

“Personally, I have no problem with the way you dress,” he said in an attempt to soften the message. “You look great to me - but I need you to lose the Dracula-look just for tonight.” 

He waited for all of a second before fleeing back into his own office and closing the door on the now fuming female in his front office. 

Through the closed door he heard her slamming a drawer, and tapping furiously on her keyboard. After a little while the buzz of activity died down. There was a short tap on his door before she flung it open without waiting for his answer. 

“I’m going to take off now,” she announced. “It’s going to take me a little while to get ready – after all I wouldn’t want to embarrass you!” He hardly had time to nod before she’d swiveled on the heel of her chunky boot and stalked out the front door.


	3. Some Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver is coming face to face with the new and improved Felicity Smoak - and realizes that sometimes you get way more than you wish for!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with the next installment!  
> Thanks for all the lovely comments on the previous chapter - I feel like this is still only the warm-up, introducing people and setting the stage - please be patient - I promise, the action will pick up soon :-)

Expensive looking cars were lining up along the sidewalk. People in glamorous evening attire were being helped out of the cars, and were slowly making their way up the red carpet leading up the steps to the entrance. Most of them obligingly stopped to pose for photographers and answer questions shouted out by the crowd of ever-present news-hungry tabloid-reporters. A news van was parked on the far side of the line-up. An energetic-looking female reporter appeared to be giving an eye-witness account of the arrival of the city’s elite in front of the camera.

The venue itself was a converted warehouse in the middle of the city’s new financial district. It had been tastefully modernized and out-fitted for events just like this. This evening its remodeled glass and steel facade was lit up to show off parts of the elegantly decorated interior, slowly filling up with the glitzy crowd. 

Felicity watched the scene from a safe distance. It was obvious that the people being helped from the fancy cars had no problem with the exposure – in fact most of them seemed to enjoy the opportunity to show of their couture dresses and expensive jewelry – all in the name of charity of course, she thought smoothing her own dress. For a second she wondered if she should have let Oliver lend her one of his sister’s dresses. These people were seriously well dressed! Then she shrugged and straightened her shoulders. She looked fine in what she was wearing, she told herself.

But it was clear that sneaking by the photographers unseen was going to be next to impossible, and Felicity quickly decided that going in the front door was not an option. She hadn’t gone through all the trouble of travelling across the country, changing her appearance and establishing a new anonymous life for herself, just to blow it all by accidentally appearing on the cover of some stupid tabloid! She was glad she’d told Oliver that she would meet him here rather than arrive with him. It would have been very awkward trying to hide from the flashlights while traipsing up the red carpet by his side!

No, she was going to need to find another way in. The problem was, every other entrance to the place was sure to be closed off on an evening like this to avoid gatecrashers. Felicity bit her lip, weighing her options. She wasn’t really a gatecrasher, she reasoned. She was a legitimately invited plus one, and as such she had every right to enter - how much trouble could she really get in, if she got caught trying to enter by the back door? 

Making a snap decision to chance it, Felicity slipped around the corner to the dark side street alongside the building. Her high heels made clicking noises on the pavement as she hurried down the street until she reached the back parking lot. She expected this was where she would find the staff entrance. She just hoped it would be open and preferably busy with wait staff running in and out, so no one would pay attention to one extra girl. 

She turned the corner of the building and found herself in a deserted, semi-darkened parking lot. Just as expected, she thought. The cars parked back here were a lot more modest than the ones unloading passengers out front, she noticed. This was definitely the staff parking lot. 

She examined the row of windows and doors along the back of the building. Things looked a lot less glamorous back here. Most of the windows were lit up and she could see a kitchen, and people busily preparing food. She saw what looked like a locker room next to it, and an office above it. And to the left, what she had been hoping for: a metal staircase leading up to a first floor door - and the door was open! 

Realizing that she was starting to run late, Felicity hurried towards the staircase, hoping to slip in unnoticed. In her haste, she almost stumbled over the two young men sitting behind a kitchen dumpster on a pair of overturned crates. They were chatting leisurely and smoking, and obviously hadn’t spotted her yet. Both of them were dressed as waiters. She assumed that they were on a break before the event really took off. 

She paused for second, considering how best to approach this. She wouldn’t be able to pass by them unnoticed, and at any moment now, one of them might look up and spot her – and there was a pretty good chance that they would react to someone so obviously dressed as a partygoer being back here. 

Felicity looked around her, searching for inspiration amongst the crates and boxes stacked along the back wall. Looking down she noticed that the ground around the dumpster was littered with cigarette butts. It would seem that this spot was the designated smokers’ hide-out. She suddenly had an idea. Crouching down, she picked up one of the larger and fresher-looking cigarette butts, scrunching up her nose in distaste. It would do, she decided upon examining it. Holding the butt between her thumb and index-finger, she took a few leisurely steps towards the staircase, appearing not to notice the two young men, sitting behind the dumpster. She stopped when she was in plain view of the two, dropped the butt and ground it out with the tip of her shoe. Then she shook out her hair, and straightened her dress, as if getting ready to join the party-crowd again. She did a half-turn and came face to face with the two young waiters. 

“Oh,” she said. “I didn’t realize anyone else was out here.” Felicity laughed, and flinched slightly at how fake her laughter sounded to her-self. But the two young men didn’t seem to notice. They just smiled and nodded at her. 

“Are you two working here tonight?” she asked, trying to make small talk. 

“Yes, we’re the hired help, for when they have big events like this,” one of them answered. He had longish blond hair and didn’t look much older than 18 she noticed. Perfect! He would be easy to deal with, she thought. 

“You look like you should be in there mixing with the crowd,” the other guy observed, looking her up and down with an appreciative look in his eye. He was taller, dark-haired and slightly older looking. 

“Yes, I was,” Felicity said casually. “I just had an urge, you know?” she said indicating the ground up cigarette butt by her feet. “Crowds like that make me a little nervous,” she said conspiratorially. They both nodded their understanding. 

“Well, I guess I should get back in there,” she said reluctantly, turning back towards the side street she had come from. “My date will be looking for me.” She smiled at the duo, and started towards the street, but after a couple of steps, she stopped as if struck by a thought. 

She turned around, eyeing the staircase speculatively. 

“I don’t suppose that leads into the party-area?” she asked, innocently. “See, my date really doesn’t approve of smoking, and I’m just not in the mood for one of his scoldings, you know?” She performed a small shrug and an exaggerated eye-roll, hoping she wasn’t laying it on too thick. “If there was any way I could sneak in without him noticing that would be so great!” she gushed, looking at them pleadingly. 

The two waiters looked at each other. Then the dark-haired one shrugged and got up off his crate. “I’ll show you a back way in,” he said and winked at her. “Follow me.” Then he walked past her and started up the stairs. 

Felicity followed close on his heels, the blond guy at her side. 

“Don’t you just hate it when people make you feel guilty about smoking?” the blonde guy said. “It’s so hypocritical! It’s your body, and you can do with it what you want, right?” She could feel him looking at her sideways as they continued up the stairs. 

“Exactly,” she said giving him a big, grateful smile. The young man almost fell down the stairs, in his eagerness to hold the door for her as she entered the building. Felicity had to bite her cheek to keep from giggling. Then she was inside.

They had entered a wide, utilitarian looking corridor, running the whole length of the first floor it seemed. Doors opening into the center of the building were dotted at intervals along the length of the corridor. She could hear music in the distance. 

“By the way,” the dark-haired guy said. “My name is Toby, and this is Neill.” He indicated the blond boy. 

“I’m Felicity,” she said, “and thank you both for helping me out like this.”

They stopped in front of the first door. “You go through here,” Toby explained. “You’ll be in a hallway leading to the upstairs washrooms. From there you can just walk down the center staircase to the banquet hall.” 

He opened the door a crack and peaked through to make sure no guests were watching. Then he opened it wider and waved her through, as he winked at her again.

“Good luck!” the blonde guy, Neill, whispered, just before the door closed again and she was on her own. 

***

Oliver was standing just inside the front door impatiently scanning the crowd. He checked his watch again. Then he looked back up at the throng of people still coming through the doors. She was late, but not enough to have him worried yet. She could just be caught in the middle of all those people. He had waited outside for ten minutes, trying to find her in the crowd. As 7 o’clock approached he had decided to move inside, thinking that he might have missed her and she might already be inside looking for him. But so far, he hadn’t been able to spot her. 

He checked his phone again. If she was running late or had any trouble getting in, she would text him. He was sure of it. But there was no message from her. 

He sighed, tucked his phone away and smoothed the lapels of his tuxedo. Then he checked his watch again knowing full well that it had been less than a minute since he last looked. He wasn’t usually a time-nazi – in fact, people who knew him would laugh at that suggestion. If anything, he had a reputation for never being on time himself. But tonight was different. They were here to work, and they needed to get organized. His good friend and navy-buddy John Diggle was here with a date too, to help out with the surveillance. Diggle helped him out from time to time, but had so far refused to be a permanent hire for his PI-agency. 

Diggle and his date were already in the crowd mingling and sipping virgin cocktails, trying to get a fix on the people they were supposed to observe. But he needed to find Felicity first - partly to act as his own decoy date, and partly to help monitor their coms. 

Where was she? Maybe she had slipped by him in the crowd and was somewhere in the banquet hall looking for him? He paced restlessly for a few more moments, searching through the party-clad people milling around just inside the door. Then he decided he might have a better vantage point from the staircase leading to the first floor. He turned around and made it a few steps towards the stairs. He had to swerve to avoid colliding with a waiter with a tray full of champagne glasses. When he looked up again, the crowd had parted just enough to give him a glimpse of the staircase. And that’s when he saw her. The woman coming down the stairs. 

She had long blonde hair. A million different shades of blonde, mingling together to give it the look of burnished gold. Unlike most of the women here, she hadn’t tortured her hair into an intricate up-do, but rather left it to tumble in soft, glossy waves down her back, and over her right shoulder. She was looking to the side – he got the impression she was also searching the crowd for someone - as she slowly walked down the stairs. The mass of golden hair was obscuring his view of her face, but he had a perfect view of her body. 

Her small frame was accentuated by a dress the color of ripe berries. The cut was simple, with a round neckline, snug around her delicate neck, but cut to leave her shoulders and arms bare. The dress fell to about mid-thigh, hugging every curve. As she moved, it sparkled from the million tiny beads the same color as the fabric, embroidered on it in intricate patterns. It was an elegant dress – modest even - but then she moved again and a short slit in the hem of the dress opened, showing off a pair of legs a mile long, ending in a pair of impossibly high heels. 

Oliver watched as the woman slowly walked down the stairs. He was aware that he was staring, but the woman was stunning – and those legs! Long, gloriously toned and ending in those ridiculous heels. He watched, hoping she’d turn her head so he could get a look at her face. But she never did, and he lost sight of her, as she disappeared into the crowd at the bottom of the steps. 

He shook himself slightly as if waking up from a dream. He had work to do – an assistant to find. He couldn’t be standing around here ogling strange women. With fresh determination he turned around to start a systematic search of the room. But as he took a step to the side to get around a group of people chatting animatedly, the blonde from the stairs was right in front of him, coming towards him. She was looking down, trying to get something from the small string purse she carried around her wrist it seemed. He reached out a hand and put it on her arm, to keep her from walking straight into the group of people. 

The woman looked up, and a pair of startled blue eyes locked with his.  
A pair of blue eyes that he knew very well.  
A pair of blue eyes that had been shooting daggers at him only hours before, as their owner stalked out of his office in a huff. 

“Felicity?” he croaked in shock, as the identity of the mystery woman registered. “You look…wow! You look… different…” he floundered as he tried to assimilate the woman in front of him with the girl he knew as his assistant. 

Felicity cocked her head and raised an eyebrow, questioningly. She was clearly enjoying his momentary confusion. Then she seemed to make up her mind about something. With a mischievous smile, she stepped in close, slipping her right hand through the crook of his arm, and leaned up to press a light kiss to his cheek. 

“There you are Honey,” she said loudly. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” She smiled adoringly at him, making his already confused mind drop all pretenses of control, and scatter like butterflies for the wind.

“What are you doing?” he whispered in a low voice, leaning down so his lips almost touched her ear. Oh, God - she smelled nice too, he noticed, once again distracted by the thought that this woman had been sitting just a few feet from him every day for the past two weeks – and he hadn’t noticed her. Or rather, he hadn’t been this aware of her. 

Felicity turned her head to answer, and he suddenly found himself staring into those blue eyes again, his face just inches from hers. He automatically dropped his eyes to her mouth. The lips that he had so far only seen painted a forbidding, black-red were suddenly all pink, soft, and very, very, kissable-looking. Then he realized that his focus was slipping again. He quickly pulled back, and once again focused his attention on her eyes. 

Humor was dancing in her eyes, and he had no doubt that she was thoroughly enjoying this. 

“I’m just playing the part,” she said patting his arm. “You said you needed a date for the evening, and here I am!” She flashed him another smile, and all he could do was stare at her helplessly for a moment. 

It took a couple of deep breaths, but once he had recollected his scattered wits about him, Oliver just couldn’t help but laugh at her obvious joy in having pulled the rug out from under him. “Okay, Felicity, you win this one,” he said, good-naturedly. 

“And can I just say,” he added. “You clean up very nicely.” He turned to look at her again, unable to hide the admiration in his eyes. “You look very beautiful Felicity,” he said quietly. 

She looked up at him from under her lashes and nodded an acceptance of the compliment. But the pleased gleam in her eye didn’t escape him. 

Just then a big hand landed on his shoulder, and Dig’s voice interrupted the moment. 

“Oliver, where’s this girl you’ve hired?” Dig said. “We need to get started man, if we want to get a look at these people before everyone is herded into the banquet.” Dig’s eyes swept over Felicity, and he nodded politely, clearly taking her for some rich girl flirting with the would-be heir to the Queen-dynasty. 

“Hello there,” Dig said to her. “You’ll have to excuse him Miss, he has a prior engagement.” 

“Dig,” Oliver said. “This is Felicity Smoak, my assistant – and date for the evening.” Then he turned to Felicity. “Felicity, meet John Diggle, the friend I told you we were meeting here.”

 

***

 

Felicity turned her attention to the huge man in the exceptionally well-fitted tuxedo. He was even taller than her boss, and big didn’t even begin to describe him. She wondered fleetingly where he might have gotten that tux – there was just no way he could have gotten a rental that would fit the kind of muscle this man was packing, she thought. His skin was a warm chocolate color and she noticed a slight spatter of freckles on his cheeks and nose. Somehow that made him look warm and fuzzy, she thought – something his bulk would have belied. 

Right now he was looking completely mystified, she noticed. He looked her over once more, before turning to give Oliver an incredulous look.

“This is your new assistant?” he asked, in a tone that clearly said ‘what kind of an idiot do you take me for?’ 

Oliver nodded in affirmation. “Yes, this is Felicity Smoak,” he said. 

“Oliver, I seriously worry about your observational skills,” the big man said, shaking his head. “This girl,” he indicated Felicity with his thumb, “this girl, is about as far from the description you gave me as is humanly possible!” 

He turned to Felicity with a warm smile. “Sorry, Felicity, no offense – your new boss here just wouldn’t be able to describe a cat so you could tell it from a dog it seems – not that either would apply to you!” the big man quickly back-pedaled. 

Felicity laughed and held out her hand to the big man. “Nice to meet you John – or should I call you Diggle?”

“Dig’s fine,” he said shaking her hand, smiling warmly. Felicity immediately liked him. There was something incredibly kind about him she decided. 

“In Oliver’s defense,” she said, “I’ve changed my appearance a little since we first met.” She smiled sweetly at Oliver, feeling just a little smug at paying him back for the vampire-comment from that afternoon. 

After all, it wasn’t by choice that she had originally adopted that look. It had been purely out of necessity. Although to be perfectly honest, tonight, after her recent makeover, she felt almost as well disguised. Yet somehow this new look felt right! It felt like she’d actually found her way back to her-self. 

She had a feeling she would be keeping this look.


	4. Ballroom Stalking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity takes charge in an unexpected way - and Oliver is not entirely happy with her initiative. And Oliver's sister decides to crash the party - in more ways than one!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a new update - sorry it took a while but I've been out with a stomach flue for days now. :-(
> 
> I hope you bear with me if it means this chapter feels a little heavy - I blame it on the flu 
> 
> Still, thank you again to everyone who commented - it really helps spark inspiration - and in this case sped up Thea's introduction. I wasn't going to bring her in for another chapter or so, but based on one comment had an idea that i though would play out nicely - but that's for next chapter!
> 
> Hope you stay with me for that.

The banquet hall was an architectural marvel, Oliver thought as he surveyed it from the top of the stairs. It kept the ruggedness of the former warehouse with its bare bricks and huge rafters, but elegantly balanced against glass and steel staircases running up the far wall, connecting seemingly floating levels of underlit glass landings, on which sat pale brown leather settees and huge, all white flower arrangements. 

Round tables with cream-colored tablecloths filled the big room, all of them lit by centerpieces of candles and more white flowers. A soft, golden light from hundreds of flickering candles reflected off the silverware and crystal. 

The crowd was slowly filing in, ready to be wined and dined at the tables they had purchased in the name of charity – or just to show off their wealth, Oliver thought wryly. 

He had always made a point of avoiding events like this, and he was aware that his presence here this evening would not go unnoticed by the tabloids. He just hoped they would ascribe it to a sudden need to impress a new girlfriend and not relate it to his day job. 

He glanced down at Felicity at his side, still reeling over the change in her. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was aware that she was under a great deal of scrutiny herself simply from being with him tonight. 

It had occurred to him that her arriving alone might have been a ploy to avoid being seen with him – but he had quickly dismissed the thought. There were reporters inside the gala too, and even if she had avoided the attention of the paparazzi at the front door, she would inevitably be linked with him after tonight. The select group of invited reporters would see to that. 

“So,” Felicity said as Oliver automatically stepped aside, to let an older couple by. “What exactly are we doing tonight?” 

“Right,” Oliver said, mentally shaking himself out of his reverie. “Remember those RoboMed-employees I had you look into?” She nodded in affirmation.

“Well, RoboMed specializes in robotics for use primarily in the health care industry,” he explained. “A few months ago, RoboMed started suspecting two of their employees of corporate espionage. They think these guys are trying to sell their latest invention to a rival company, and they hired us to look into it. RoboMed’s in-house security has had them under close scrutiny for a while. Just last week the two suddenly bought tickets to tonight’s gala – and this event is several steps above their pay grade, so it raised a red flag.” 

He paused for a moment, pretending to admire the display of beauty and glamor in the room below, while actually locating the people they were observing. He noted with a slight smile, that Dig was doing the exact same thing from his position on the other side of the room. 

“Down there,” he said to Felicity, discreetly pointing out a table half way across the room, where two men and their dates were getting seated. 

Then he made a curious gesture with his hand, and nodded. Felicity looked at him questioningly. “What was that?” she asked.

“I just signaled to Dig that we are going in now, and to proceed as agreed.” He smiled a little smugly. “During dinner we’ll be texting to keep each other updated on any development,” he added.

“Seriously?” Felicity said, an incredulous look on her face. “Cell phones and secret hand-shakes? That’s how you two communicate when you’re in the field? Wow! You really need me Mister!” Shaking her head in disbelief, she turned to take another look at the tables slowly filling up.

Stunned, Oliver looked at his assistant for a second. What was wrong with texting? It worked!  
But whatever she meant, they would have to discuss that later. Right now, they had a dinner to get through. 

Tugging lightly at Felicity’s hand - still comfortably resting in the crook of his arm - Oliver led her down the steps towards their own table. It had taken some maneuvering, but they had managed to get seats that provided a view of the table where their two suspects sat. 

As they made their way through the room, he noticed quite a few heads turning. And the looks weren’t all for him. Felicity’s new look seemed to ensure her a great deal of attention - at least from the male part of the crowd, he realized. Without thinking he pulled her a little closer to his side, surprised to find that he was feeling slightly proprietary. She looked up at him questioningly, but he just gave her a reassuring smile. 

When they reached their table, Oliver pulled out the chair for Felicity before taking his own seat. As she slid onto the seat, the slit in her dress opened slightly, exposing a few inches of her thigh, before the tablecloth covered it. Oliver felt his cheeks grow hot. Suddenly flustered, he fidgeted with his own chair for a moment. 

“Anyway, we don’t know for sure why the two are here tonight,” he hastily continued to fill her in. “But I think it’s safe to assume it’s got something to do with whatever they’re up to. And in any case, it provides us with a setting for observing them unnoticed.”

Felicity just nodded, and greeted the couple who was just then being seated at their table. She didn’t seem to have noticed his wandering eyes, he thought with relief. He just needed to focus on the job at hand, he reminded himself. It wouldn’t do to let himself be distracted.

Waiters were coming around filling glasses from cloth-wrapped bottles of wine. With a regretful sigh Oliver declined the wine a waiter was offering and asked for a club soda. Then he casually glanced around the room again, making sure that the two men were at their designated table. Dig and his date were at a table just behind them. 

He was just about to turn his attention back to Felicity, when his eye caught on a colorful, sparkly dress with a very exuberant brunette in it. She was talking animatedly to a group of young people, clearly enjoying herself, and sipping frequently from a flute of champagne. 

“Damn!” he muttered under his breath, still looking at the girl. “What is she doing here? She hates these things.” He puffed out an exasperated breath of air, and ran a hand through his hair. 

“What’s wrong?” Felicity asked. “Old girl-friend decide to join the party?” She elbowed him in the side playfully. 

“No, worse!” he said. “It’s my sister.” 

“Oh! The one whose dresses you lend out?” she said somewhat acerbically. “She sounds very… obliging. Why is her being here a problem?” 

“First of all, Thea is not the least bit obliging,” Oliver explained, not quite able to hide his concern with this development. “She’s young, reckless, and tends to cause all kinds of trouble – not intentionally mind you, she’s a good girl. Good intentions. Good heart. But she’s very trusting, very…well, she’s young,” he finished lamely. “And I really don’t need her interference tonight.” 

“So which one is she?” Felicity asked, clearly curious to see the younger Queen in action. 

“Over there,” Oliver pointed out the group to her. “The brunette in the sparkly dress – see her?”

“She’s very pretty,” Felicity said. “Love her dress,” she deadpanned. “But seriously Oliver, it looks like she’s here with friends. It probably won’t make any difference at all. It might even make it seem all the more natural that you’re here too, don’t you think?” she tried to reassure him. 

He didn’t get a chance to answer because just then the host of the evening asked everybody to take their seats. Dinner was about to begin. 

 

***

Dinner had been interesting, Felicity thought with a smile. She leaned forward to touch up her lip-stick in the mirror in the up-stairs rest room that she had retreated to. They may not have learned much about their suspects, but she was certainly learning all sorts of new things about her boss! 

For instance, she had learned that he looked amazing in a tuxedo. Although, that probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise, she thought, finger-combing her hair. After all he looked pretty hot in just his everyday jeans and t-shirt, but seeing him tonight in full James Bond-get-up… it just did things to her. Not that she was looking at men at the moment. Definitely not! She had enough on her plate without romantic entanglements complicating things, thank you very much! Besides, he was her boss. 

But he had surprised her again by turning out to be a very good date – even if it was pretend. During dinner they had talked easily with the two other couples at their table, keeping the topics light and general. Oliver had made interesting conversation and been quite attentive and entertaining. His usual office manners hadn’t hinted at this level of…charm, she decided for lack of a better word. 

And then there was the fact that he seemed so laughably easy to rattle! First, his clumsy attempt to hide that he had been ogling her legs! Felicity couldn’t help smiling at that. It was kind of flattering in a way. 

Also, whenever she had put her hand on his arm to get his attention, or leaned in to whisper something in his ear, he had become flustered and even flushed a little. She had perhaps been a little more hands-on than strictly necessary, she thought with a small giggle, but she’d had way too much fun seeing her controlled and put-together boss on shaky ground. Besides, she was pretending to be his date so a little touching was in order she felt. 

Another surprise had arrived in the shape of Toby, the dark-haired waiter who had helped her get in earlier in the evening. He had been assigned to wait on their table, and had winked at her conspiratorially as he placed the first course in front of her. She had almost laughed out loud at the affronted look on Oliver’s face. He had clearly thought the waiter was flirting with his date. 

For the sake of not getting her Happy Helper fired, she had quickly explained to Oliver, that the young man was a friend, and that had appeased him some. 

But Toby’s presence had given her an idea. They wanted to keep eyes on their two suspects at all times, and once dinner was over and dancing began that was going to get difficult. Especially considering Oliver’s low-tech approach to things, she snorted lightly. She still couldn’t believe that the ‘coms’ he had wanted her help with was nothing more than a few cell phones!

So she had decided to enlist Toby and Neill’s help. She was pretty sure that Oliver wouldn’t approve of her initiative, so she figured it was safer not to ask. In stead, she had lingered behind while everybody made their way to the dance floor after dinner, Oliver and Dig busily discussing their next move. She had managed to find Toby and ask him to meet her up here, by the restrooms where he had let her in. 

Felicity checked her own reflection one last time. Then she decided she had given him enough time to make it up there, and exited the rest room. 

Checking that the hall way was empty, she quickly walked down the hall, towards the door to the service-area. She knocked on the door once and it immediately opened. Toby and a very excited-looking Neill waited on the other side. 

Felicity quickly stepped into the service hallway, and closed the door behind her. “Hey guys,” she said. “Thanks for meeting me. I really need your help with something, but I don’t have much time – my date will be looking for me downstairs in a minute.” 

She quickly explained to them what she wanted them to do. After a short deliberation – and a bit more explaining on her part - they both readily agreed to help. Neill was almost a little too excited about it, she thought. She really hoped he would be able to tone down his cloak and dagger- tendencies a bit or she might regret this. 

 

***

Felicity slowly made her way back down the staircase, and through the crowds surrounding the dance floor, searching for Oliver and Dig. People were dancing now, but she was fairly certain she wouldn’t find the two of them on the dance floor. 

When she had excused herself to go to the rest room, they had been standing at the edge of the dance floor, talking and surreptitiously observing their two suspects, who were busy spinning and twirling with their dates. Oliver had looked overly serious, she thought. Like he was getting ready for a dentist’s appointment - not a turn on the dance floor! She gathered that dancing wasn’t one of his favorite activities. 

But they were nowhere in sight now. 

Just as Felicity had decided to go back to the banquet hall to look for them, a warm hand closed on her elbow, spinning her around. Before she could react, she found herself pressed up against Oliver, his arm around her waist, one hand on the small of her back holding her close. His other hand found hers, and held it lightly against his chest, as he looked into her eyes. 

She let out a surprised yelp and with a weird sense of shock, her eyes locked with his. He smiled and raised an eyebrow as if challenging her. But to do what? Felicity desperately tried to figure out what he was doing. What he wanted her to do. How to breathe…

Then he started to move. 

She hadn’t expected this either, a small part of her brain somewhat clinically observed. The man could dance! And in a very assured yet relaxed way too. Completely in control. As always, she grudgingly acknowledged. 

After a moment, she relaxed and tried to ignore her overly active brain and all the questions it was throwing at her. She wasn’t going to analyze this. She was just going to enjoy the moment. It had been a while since she’d danced – and dancing with Oliver Queen was quickly becoming one of her favorite things, she decided dreamily. 

Just then she felt him stiffen slightly and turn them in an unexpected direction. Her eyes flew to his face. He was looking intently off to his right and moving them in that direction too. 

As he spun her around she noticed the two suspects standing together at the foot of the stairs.  
One of them was holding a cell phone to his ear, talking intently. The other was watching him, hanging on to his every word it seemed. 

Oliver spun her again, and she could no longer see the two. Then she felt his mouth close to her ear. “Don’t look directly at them Felicity,” he whispered. “But if they move to leave this room, we need to see where they go.”

“Yeah, about that,” she said, suddenly worried how he would react to her plan. “I sort of did something…” she trailed off. He had stopped moving and she realized he had steered them off the dance floor. They were now standing just behind the staircase leading to the first floor, the two men just visible through the spaces between the steps. 

He turned his head to look at her intently. “Felicity,” he said slowly, “What are you talking about?” She was suddenly very aware, that his arm was still around her, his hand pressed to her lower back, holding her in place. 

“Well, I kind of asked…” she began, but just then a ping signaled an incoming text on her phone. She quickly fished it out of her string purse, and checked her messages. “Yes!” she whispered, as she saw the latest text. “And no! not good!” she continued as is dawned on her what it meant. 

“What?” Oliver snapped. “Felicity? What’s going on?” 

“They’re gone,” she answered indicating the spot where the two suspects had been moments before. Oliver spun around so quickly he almost knocked her over, and started furiously scanning the crowd to find them again. 

“Damn it!” he mumbled. “Where’s Dig? Where did they go?” 

“Oliver!” Felicity said, trying to get his attention. “Oliver, listen...”

“Not now, Felicity,” he barked. “I need to find them.” He was just about to throw himself into the crowd when she grabbed his arm and forcibly turned him around. 

“I know where they are!” she hissed. “If you’ll just listen for a minute I’ll explain.” She took a deep breath as Oliver stared at her in confusion.

“What are you talking about?” he said, impatiently. 

“Look,” she said. “Look at this message. It’s a picture of your two guys going into the upstairs rest room together two minutes ago. That’s actually a little strange when you think about isn’t it?” Felicity mused. “I mean, isn’t that sort of a girl-thing? Going to powder our noses together? I didn’t think guys were big on bathroom bonding…” 

“Felicity!” Oliver was practically yelling now. “How do you know? Who sent you that picture?”

“Oh, that! Yes, see that’s what I was about to tell you. Remember Toby? Our waiter? Well, I sort of asked him to keep an eye out for our two guys – you know, in case they decided to slip out of the designated guest area? Anyway, Toby just sent me this picture of the two of them going into the upstairs rest room together, and another picture of two other men following them in. That’s kind of odd isn’t it?” she added, brows wrinkled in concentration.

When he didn’t immediately answer she looked up to find him staring at her, an unfathomable look on his face.

“Well, aren’t we going to do something?” she asked. 

Snapping out of whatever is was, he fished his own phone out of his pocked and dialed Dig. His eyes never left her face as he quickly filled in Dig and asked him to join them by the stairs. 

His gaze was starting to make her jittery when he ended the call and pocketed the phone. He kept staring at her without a word. “Look,” she said nervously. “I was just trying to help, okay? I mean, we would have lost them just now if I hadn’t had Toby helping out. I didn’t tell him anything – just that I needed to keep an eye on these two.” 

Oliver kept staring at her disapprovingly. 

“But look at the bright side,” she heard herself babbling on. “We have a picture of the two guys they are meeting with. Maybe your client will know who they are?” she trailed off uncertainly. 

“Felicity,” Oliver said slowly, his voice low and a little raw. “We will talk about this later. Right now I need to use the rest room. Fill in Dig when he gets here.” Then he turned on his heel and took the stairs two at a time till he reached the first floor and disappeared from view.

Felicity let out a puff of air, feeling suddenly deflated. 

***

Oliver still hadn’t made up his mind whether to spank her or hug her, when he rejoined Dig and Felicity in the ballroom five minutes later. Her little stunt had gotten them the information they wanted – they now had pictures and a way to identify the potential buyers – but he did not approve of her methods. 

Under pretense of needing to use the bathroom he had been able to confirm that he two suspects had in fact contacted the two other men in the picture on Felicity’s phone. They had shut up the minute he entered the rest room but there was no doubt that hey had been having a meeting when he opened the door. 

Felicity was chatting amicably with Dig’s date when he returned. She eyed him apprehensively but didn’t say anything when he pulled Dig to the side to fill him in. 

He was just done giving Dig all the details, when a young woman – one of the girls he had seen in his sister’s group, he thought – came rushing up to them. 

“Oh, thank God I found you,” the girl panted as she leaned on his arm, catching her breath. “I’ve been looking everywhere!” 

“And you are..?” Oliver asked, trying to sound polite in spite of her untimely interruption. 

“Amy,” the girl said. “I’m Amy – one of Thea’s friends? Anyway, Thea is…well, she’s not so good.” The girl looked a little awkward. “She’s…not feeling well,” she added looking slightly guilty. 

“What happened,” he asked, immediately worried that his sometimes overly impulsive sister had had an accident. 

“Oh, it’s nothing serious,” the girl said.” She’s just – you know… she’s a little drunk, and she’s not feeling so well. I think she needs to get home.” The girl nodded and smiled brightly at him. 

Oliver closed his eyes for second, silently counting to ten. 

“Where is she?” he asked quietly. 

Amy led them to a dark corner of the now deserted banquet hall. They found Thea slumped over in a chair, her head resting on her arms, eyes closed. 

“Thea,” he said, prodding the lifeless form of his baby sister. The only response he got was a low moan. This was not good! He needed to get her out of here, and not by the front door. He did not need his sister on the cover of every tabloid in the city with a ‘drunk-and disorderly’-story tomorrow! 

“We need to get her out the back somehow.” He said urgently, looking at Dig. 

“I know a way.” Felicity’s voice interrupted unexpectedly. He looked at her in surprise, but decided that he could question her later. It would just be one more thing added to the list of subjects they needed to discuss, he thought scowling slightly. 

“Okay,” he said. “Lead the way.” He gently lifted his sister into his arms, and prayed that they would be able to make it out without attracting too much attention. Felicity was on the phone he noticed, talking rapidly to someone. He was just about to snap at her to hang up, when the waiter from earlier showed up. 

Felicity greeted the young man, and started following him towards the back of the hall, signaling the others to follow. 

The waiter – Toby was his name, Oliver recalled – led them through the kitchen and out the back to a dark parking lot. “The reporters don’t come back here,” Toby said, nodding knowingly. “I can wait here with her while you go get the car if you want?” he offered, eyeing Thea speculatively.

Oliver reminded himself not to snap at the young man. He was just being helpful. 

“That’s okay,” he said. “My friends will wait with her, while I get the car. But thanks.” He turned to Dig, but just as he was about to hand her over to Dig, Thea woke up. 

“Sick…” she mumbled as she clapped a hand over her mouth, making it abundantly clear to everybody what was about to happen.  
Oliver barely had time to put her on her feet before she was violently sick, leaning against a dumpster, her slender frame shaking.

“I’ll go and get your car,” he heard Dig saying, as he held Thea’s hair and supported her. He noticed Felicity’s worried face and the curiosity mingled with concern on Toby’s. 

“I think we’ve got it Toby,” he said pointedly, trying to dismiss the young man. “But thanks for all your help.” 

This time Toby seemed to get the message, and he quietly said goodbye to Felicity before slinking off into the dark. Amy had disappeared somewhere along the way too he noticed, leaving him and Felicity alone in the dark. His sister was nodding off again, leaning against his shoulder.

He sat down on a crate and settled the now sleeping Thea more comfortably in his lap. 

“So…” he said, looking up at Felicity. “Some night!” He was suddenly feeling very tired. “At least we got what we came for.” He gave her a half smile, not quite ready issue the ‘thank you’ that he knew she had earned. “I guess it was a good thing you asked Toby for help - repeatedly!” he said, looking away from her. 

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “He was very helpful.” She was silent for a beat. “But you know,” she rushed on, “we could have done it ourselves with a little more tech-equipment.” 

His head snapped around, and he forgot all about being tired.

“We do things just fine the way we do them,” he said. “It’s simple surveillance and investigation – not some black op!” he knew he was being irrational about this, but somehow he just felt very out of his element around her this evening. 

But one look at his assistant told him that she wasn’t about to let it go that easily. 

“Well,” Felicity said. “That’s just stupid! I mean, it’s great that you and Dig have your little boy-scout signals and all that, but what good are they if you can’t actually see each other? I can hook you up with some really great tech – practically invisible, and they’ll keep you in contact easily no matter where you are – even when you don’t have visual!” Felicity shook her head in frustration. 

“Seriously,” she mumbled just loud enough for him to hear. “I thought the army was a little more advanced than smoke-signals and Morse code!”

“Navy!” Oliver snapped. “Not army – navy! And yes, we do have more advanced solutions, but sometimes you just don’t have that luxury, so yes, we can do it the old fashioned way too!”

He took a deep breath, looking away from her again. “But I guess it wouldn’t hurt to use some more high-tech solutions,” he mumbled still not looking at her. 

Dig’s chuckles came through the darkness. “You two sound like an old married couple already,” he said as he approached the dumpster. “I’d ask you to kiss and make up, but I guess that would be inappropriate under the circumstances.” He barked out a laugh, shaking his head.

“Your car is on the street just outside the lot,” he said, handing the car keys to Oliver. “See you guys tomorrow!” Then he left to go and find his own date, leaving them in awkward silence, only broken by an occasional snore from Thea.


	5. I’m Calling Your Bluff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver decides it's time to start pushing his lovely assistant for some answers, but discovers that he might be getting in over his head...in a way he hadn't anticipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late night, time for our hero to do a bit of reflection some soul-searching perhaps...
> 
> Anyway, Oliver needs to push Felicity a bit - but winds up pushing himself too - more than he expected. I thought about taking the next step (of my story!!) in this chapter - but unfortunately I have to leave them hanging here for a bit longer than usual - I'm going on a short vacation for a few days, so next update will probably be in about ten days...and I figure this is a better place to leave them :-)

They drove quickly through the dark, empty streets of down town. It had been raining and the blacktop glistened wetly in the streetlights. Inside the car it was dark and quiet. The only light came from the dashboard that lit up Oliver’s face with an orange glow. The only sounds were the whoosh of tires against wet asphalt and the gentle hum of the engine. 

The quiet darkness in the car made her feel cocooned in safety. Like the calm after a storm combined with the cozy sense of warmth and belonging you got from sitting in front of a fireplace, sipping hot cocoa with someone you love, Felicity thought dreamily. It felt nice. It had been too long since she’d felt that safe. 

But the feeling was deceptive, she knew. Deceptive, because she could almost taste the tension radiating off of him. She had no doubt his mind was furiously working over the events of the evening – and her part in them in particular. She sighed, and looked out the window. 

Thea was asleep in the back seat. She hadn’t even woken up when Oliver had carried her to the car and deposited her in the back, before silently holding the door to the passenger seat open for Felicity. 

She had gotten in without a word. She had decided to give him a hand with Thea, and then she would excuse herself and get a cab home from Thea’s place – wherever that was. 

She couldn’t wait for this night to be over with, she told herself. But she knew it wasn’t absolutely true. She had to admit, she had actually enjoyed herself. It hadn’t been a real date of course, but it had definitely had its moments. But it had also been draining, and now all she really wanted was to be alone in the safety of her little apartment. And to get out of these heels! Felicity almost moaned out loud as she wriggled her toes in her shoes and relaxed into the seat, letting the gentle vibrations of the engine soothe her. 

She was just about to nod off, when Oliver turned into a more residential looking street. Suddenly alert again, Felicity took in their surroundings. High-end condos, high-rises with uniformed doormen and fancy-looking converted lofts. A few boutique cafées, a wine-bar and an artisan bakery completed the sense of upper-class, ritzy neighbor-hood. 

He parked in front of a building half way down the street. The building looked like it had once had a much more utilitarian purpose, but now it housed a handful of artfully bohemian apartments. 

Felicity didn’t wait for him to come around and open the door for her. She got out as soon as the engine switched off, and watched as he walked around the car to get Thea. Oliver carefully lifted out his sister, and Felicity collected Thea’s purse and closed the car door. As if by tacit agreement, neither of them spoke. 

But the silence was quickly becoming uncomfortable she felt as she trudged along by his side, opening doors and pushing the button for the elevator for him. 

The elevator pinged right away and the doors opened. They both started to step in, but the doors weren’t wide enough to accommodate the two of them, side by side, Oliver cradling Thea in his arms. They bumped into each other clumsily, and both immediately stepped back again. With an exasperated sigh Oliver signaled for her to step in ahead of him. He quickly followed and pushed the button for the pent-house apartment. 

As she leaned against the back wall of the elevator, watching the numbers light up in the display as the elevator ascended, Felicity decided that this mutual vow of silence they seemed to have taken was getting ridiculous. 

“Look, I know you’re probably mad at me,” she said, still looking at the number display. “But could we just postpone all the drama till tomorrow? It’s late, I’m tired and I just want to get your sister settled, so I can go home and get into bed myself. You can yell at me all you want in the morning.” 

She felt his eyes on her but she still didn’t look at him. 

“I’m not mad at you Felicity,” he said softly, his voice giving away his own fatigue. “Tonight has just been full of surprises.” He suddenly chuckled. “I have a lot on my mind. I’m sorry if it felt like I was giving you the silent treatment – I tend to become a bit of an oyster when I’m working things out,” he shrugged and gave her a half smile, that she caught at a sideway glance. 

She nodded curtly, feeling a blush creeping up her neck. She tucked her head down, trying to cover up a sudden flash of inexplicable embarrassment, and decided that she had better stop trying to read things into Oliver Queen’s behavior. Clearly she was still pretty clue-less what this man was concerned, and she seemed prone to wildly overreacting around him. 

It was a relief when the elevator deposited them on the top floor in front of a pair of solid looking double doors, apparently leading into Thea’s loft. 

“Her keys should be in the purse,” Oliver said. “Do you mind?” 

“No, of course,” she said, and fished around in the younger woman’s purse to find her keys. Thea’s purse was small and stuffed full of lipstick, credit card, cell phone, a couple of condoms that Felicity very much hoped Oliver hadn’t spotted, and finally - a set of keys.

Felicity quickly let them in, and turned on a light by the front door. Oliver pushed past her into the big, open-plan apartment. He obviously knew his way around his sister’s apartment, even in the dark. He steered directly towards the far end, where a door let off to the right. 

“Would you get the lights for me?” he asked, as they reached the door. He let her walk in ahead of him and she fumbled in the dark, till she found the switch and flipped on the light. Then she walked to the big double bed that would have swamped her own tiny apartment but fit perfectly in Thea’s high-ceilinged, spacious bedroom. She pulled back the luxurious duvet, and stepped aside, to let Oliver settle his sister on the bed. 

Thea immediately rolled onto her side, but didn’t wake up. Oliver chuckled fondly and stroked her hair gently, before turning to pull the covers up around her and tuck her in.

“Wait a second,” Felicity said, placing her hand on his arm. “Don’t you want to make her a bit more comfortable first?”

“Comfortable?” he asked, clearly amused. “Felicity, she’s unconscious! She wouldn’t know it if I dressed her in a bib and a tutu! Why does it matter?” 

“Trust me on this,” she said, pushing him aside, and going to work on getting the younger woman settled for the night.   
“She’ll hate herself in the morning if she wakes up with a face full of make-up and the taste of sick in her mouth!” She gently unclasped Thea’s necklace and placed it on her nightstand. Then she proceeded to remove the girl’s strappy, 4-inch stilettoes, placing first one then the other neatly under the bed.

“Why don’t you go and get a glass of water and some aspirin for her while I get her settled here?” She looked up, to find him staring at her and his sister with an unfathomable look in his eyes. Then he nodded curtly and disappeared off towards the kitchen area of the loft.

Felicity finished undressing Thea down to her underwear, before covering her with the duvet. Then she went and rummaged through the cabinets in the adjoining bathroom for the things she needed to finish her ministrations. She couldn’t quite explain it to herself, but for some reason she felt protective of the younger woman, like the girl was her own sister or something. 

Which was of course completely ridiculous, she told herself, considering that she didn’t have a sister and that she’d never met Thea until tonight – and technically, could you even say you had met someone, when that person had been unconscious the whole time? Well, mostly unconscious anyway, Felicity’s thoughts rambled on, as she puttered about the room. 

By the time Oliver returned she was just putting everything away again, and turning out the bathroom lights.

“She’s completely out of it, she said, taking the glass of water and the pills from Oliver, and placing them on the nightstand where Thea would be sure to spot them. “There’s no way we’re going to get her to drink any water now, but she’ll need it when she wakes up.” Felicity shuddered lightly at the thought of the hangover that was in store for the younger woman. 

“Yeah well, as much as I love my sister, I can’t say she’s without fault here,” Oliver commented with a chuckle. “She probably deserves the hangover she’s bound to get.” He bent down to give his sister a brief kiss on the forehead. 

Then he turned towards Felicity, placed a hand on her lower back, and started leading her from the room. Felicity felt a jolt of electricity at the contact, and stifled a gasp. The intimacy of the darkened bedroom must have made her more aware of him, she thought. Or maybe she was just being hypersensitive because she was tired. ‘He probably just startled me that’s all,’ she tried to convince herself, as she let him lead her from the room, the warmth from his hand seeping through the thin fabric of her dress, seemingly melting into her body. 

“So,” she exhaled sharply as Oliver removed his hand and softly closed the door to Thea’s bedroom behind them. “Time for bed then,” she said in what she hoped was a breezy tone. She noticed his eyes widening slightly, and belatedly realized that her words could be misconstrued. 

“I mean, I’ll call a cab and get going,” she hurried to clarify. “Home. To my own bed. You don’t have to wait up for the cab to get here, I’m sure it’ll get here in no time, and… you know what, I think I’ll just head down to the lobby to wait for it, so I’ll just see you at the office tomorrow…” she babbled on, blushing furiously. 

Oliver’s laughter interrupted her flow of words. 

“Don’t be silly Felicity,” he said, his voice like warm syrup, she thought. “I’m taking you home.”

“No!” she said, frantically, “No that won’t be necessary – not necessary at all. It’s really nice of you to offer, but you had better stay here with Thea – you know in case she needs you…”

Oliver laughed again, and crossed his arms over his chest, looking her over with warm eyes. 

“You’re really cute when you’re being evasive, you know that?” he said. “But you can just save it – I know that for some reason you want your living-arrangement to be a secret, but I already know where you live, and I’m taking you home. End of discussion.”

Felicity gaped at him open-mouthed. Through the chaos of thoughts that erupted in her head, it occurred to her that she had grossly underestimated this man. And what was worse, it was starting to dawn on her that she had absolutely no idea how to handle this version of Oliver Queen. 

 

***

“Oh come on Felicity, what did your expect?” Oliver said, laughter glinting in his eyes. “Did you seriously think I hadn’t discovered where you live at this point? What kind of a detective would I be if I couldn’t even find out where my own assistant lives?” He laughed as she squirmed and struggled to arrange her features in an appropriate expression.

“I mean, trying to withhold that information when you’re hired by an investigator?” he continued, still chuckling at her discomfort. “That’s like waving a red flag in front of a raging bull! How could I not look into it?” Oliver shook his head at her naivety. 

“What I don’t understand however, is why you’re making such a big deal out of it. I mean it’s not like you’re living on the streets or in a really disreputable area or anything like that. And as far as I can tell, you don’t have anything sinister hidden away in that little one-bedroom ‘compact living-situation’ as I believe the add calls it.” 

He saw her wince as his description made it clear to her that he did indeed know where she lived. 

He paused for a moment, giving her the opportunity to jump in if she felt like filling in some of the blanks for him.   
She didn’t, it seemed.   
She was still staring at him, like a deer caught in the headlights, opening and closing her mouth like she was about to say something. But nothing came out – which for her was a first, he mused. She was usually a bit on the verbal side, and he had not seen her this stumped for words since…ever. 

“Look,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I know it’s late, and I know you’re tired, but I think there are a few things we need to get out in the open – and now is as good a time as any. Why don’t you just take a seat and relax, and I’ll get us a glass of wine and we can talk for bit.” He looked down at her with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. 

He had a feeling that ‘a talk’ was about the last thing she was interested in, particularly if the talk revolved around her! But he wasn’t going to let her play hide and seek anymore. He was determined to get some answers out of her. And right now he felt like he had the advantage for once, so he was damn well going to use it! 

Oliver was astutely aware that his normal self-assurance was oddly lacking where Felicity was concerned. He couldn’t quite explain why she had that effect on him, but somehow she just got under his skin. She rattled him like few people could, and he didn’t much like it. But at the same time there was just something about her that made him want to protect her. He’d had a good feeling about her that first day in his office, and the past two weeks had done nothing to change that. Quite the opposite. 

And then there was that other feeling he had gotten – the feeling that she was hiding something, or hiding from something? That feeling had also gotten stronger over the past two weeks. And he wanted to help her. In fact, he was going to insist on it, he thought with renewed determination, as he turned her around, and walked her to the couch one arm casually around her shoulder.

“Sit, please,” he said, and switched on a lamp on the small side table. It cast a soft, golden light over the couch, and made the rest of the room seem darker by contrast. “Make yourself comfortable while I go and get us a drink, okay?”

He strode purposefully to the kitchen area and roamed through the cabinets for glasses. He had already spotted the wine-rack and picked a bottle at random. He made quick work of opening it and, grabbing the bottle and the two glasses, hurried back to the still silent girl on the couch. 

Okay, maybe not so much girl, the small voice in the back of his head corrected him. She was definitely all woman, and the way she looked tonight, he was having a hard time remembering that this wasn’t a date and that she was in fact his employee. 

He poured a liberal amount in both glasses and handed one to Felicity. She accepted it with a tentative smile, and started swirling the wine in the glass absentmindedly. 

She looked tense he noticed and immediately felt bad for causing her discomfort. He had to fight the urge to reach out and smooth out the small worried crease that had appeared between her eyebrows. 

He quickly decided against sitting next to her on the couch. She clearly needed her space right now, and he wanted her to feel comfortable enough to open up to him. So he pulled up a low puff stool and sat down to face her. 

“Felicity?” he said softly, waiting for her to look up and meet his eyes. When she finally did, he smiled at her, and thought he saw her relax just a little bit.

“So, here’s the thing,” he said. “Since the first day you walked into my office, it’s been pretty obvious that you’re hiding something. Or hiding from something.” The small startled noise she made at his words didn’t escape him. 

“I mean, let’s face it,” he continued, “you’re so over-qualified for the job I’ve hired you to do it’s really ridiculous. And also, I don’t believe for a second that you don’t want something more challenging – nobody goes to MIT and works with the kind of dedication that you have without wanting to use those skills.”

He took a sip of wine and let the full flavor of ripe fruit and tannins roll over his tongue before swallowing. 

“And then there’s your appearance,” he continued thoughtfully. “I knew from the moment I saw you that the whole all-black, teenage, angry-at-the-world-thing you had going on was not really you – I mean, don’t get me wrong, you worked it well, but it just didn’t look quite natural on you.” He paused for a beat. “Not like this…” he said softly with a gesture that encompassed her hair, her dress – all of her.

“Tonight you look much more at ease,” he said slowly. “Much more…real,” he trailed off. 

Felicity was staring at him now, her eyes huge in her pale face - but not scared. No she didn’t look scared, he thought with some relief. 

“So,” he pushed on. “I want you to know, that whatever it is you’re hiding, it won’t change anything for me. You have a job with me no matter what – well, unless of course you turn out to be a child murderer or something like that I guess,” he laughed in an attempt at humor. 

One corner of her mouth rose in a small half smile, but that was her only reaction. 

“I should warn you though, that I will want to know what’s going on. And if you don’t want to tell me, you should know that I’m not a bad detective. I do actually know how to investigate and I will get to the bottom of this.” He watched as a million different emotions washed over her face, before her expression settled into stubborn refusal. 

He almost laughed. She was definitely not giving in just yet – but he really didn’t mind. She was a challenge and he wasn’t backing away from it! In fact, he was quite enjoying it he had to admit. 

“I can see that you don’t want to let me in on your secret just yet – but Felicity…” he said her name slowly, almost tasting it. “I want to help if I can. You can trust me. I hope you know that.” 

Her eyes were still locked on his and he could practically see the cogs turning in that beautiful head of hers. She was clearly torn about what to do, but he had a feeling the battle wasn’t won yet. 

Felicity leaned forward and set her glass down on the low glass table in front of the couch. She smoothed out a few non-existent wrinkles from her dress, and tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear. 

He found himself following her every move, mesmerized by her and excited somehow to see what she was going to do next. He realized in a flash that he really had no clue what to expect from her. And he was thoroughly enjoying it!

“I think I would like to go home now,” she finally said, her voice slightly husky. “Thank you for the wine – and for tonight. I know it wasn’t a date-date but I still had a good a time.” 

He watched her stand up, grab her purse from the couch, and make a move to step around him where he blocked her way on the low stool. 

“Oh no, you don’t!” Oliver said, getting up and reaching for her arm before she had taken so much as a step. He didn’t mean to, but somehow his swift movement must have knocked her off balance, because she stumbled and had to lean into him to avoid falling. 

Next thing he knew his arms were around her, her hands resting on his chest, their eyes locked only inches apart. Her lips parted as if she was about to say something, but she didn’t. In fact, he could have sworn she didn’t even breathe. He stared into her eyes watching them turn darker somehow, and he forgot everything – what hey had been talking about, what he wanted from her, everything. The only thing he knew in that moment was that he desperately wanted to kiss her.


	6. The Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity need to figure out how to deal with what happened last night - but at the same time work gets tense when it turns out things aren't quite how they seemed with Thea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long radio silence guys! Life happened - but I'm back on track now and expect to do weekly updates.
> 
> I really appreciate your comments - thank you so much! It really makes this so much more fun :-) 
> 
> So back to the story...the awkward morning after...our couple have some things to work out - but obstacles are thrown in their way!

With a sigh of relief, Felicity closed the front door and slumped back against it. She let her head fall back and closed her eyes tightly. She waited in the dark, breath bated, until she heard the engine revving, and the sound of his car pulling away. 

They hadn’t talked much on the way home in the car. She had been too caught up in the chaos of her own emotions, her mind awhirl with questions. 

And to make matters worse it had seemed to her that the car had been crammed to capacity with sexual tension - so thick it was a wonder the car hadn’t spontaneously combusted, she thought with barely contained panic. 

“Oh, this really, really wasn’t supposed to happen…” she mumbled plaintively. 

Leaning to the side, she peaked out of the narrow window beside the door and scanned the empty street to make sure that he was really gone. Only then did she begin to relax. 

She slipped out of her heels, leaving the fancy shoes where they landed on the floor. She almost moaned in pleasure as she curled her toes into the hallway rug. 

Barefoot she padded towards the kitchen, not bothering to turn on the lights. She knew her way around her apartment even in the dark – and the streetlight falling through the bay window provided ample light for locating the fridge. 

Light from the fridge spilled over the kitchen floor as she reached in and grabbed a bottle of chilled water. She nudged the fridge door shut with her hip, and shuffled onto the high stool at the breakfast bar that made up one side of her kitchen. 

Trying very hard not to think about the events of the past couple of hours, Felicity twisted the bottle cap and drank deeply. As if drinking enough water would help wash away all the confusing emotions that were threatening to overwhelm her. 

Clasping the bottle tightly, she closed her eyes and took another sip, concentrating hard on the feeling of icy water sliding down her throat, trickling all the way to her tummy.  
If she could just focus hard enough on the way the cold spread through her throat and stomach, maybe she could purge herself of all thoughts about tonight. 

Because she really didn’t want to think about it…  
No, she did not want to go there… 

She did not want to think about that almost-kiss, that moment when she had looked into his eyes and had wanted nothing more than to close the gap between their lips and lose herself in a kiss that she instinctively knew would have been like no other kiss. 

She did not want to think about the heat in his eyes, how his pupils had dilated, his breath had caught, or how he’d started to bend his head towards hers. 

She didn’t want to remember how she had wanted to press closer, how her hands on his chest had been itching to wander up to those broad shoulders, circle that strong neck and bury themselves in his hair. 

She did not want to think about it!  
He was her boss, she reminded herself sternly. He was her boss, and he was still - relatively speaking - a stranger, and a very unpredictable one at that. She did not need this.  
What she needed was to focus on herself, and on getting her own messed up life sorted out. She did not need this kind of distraction right now. 

Practically growling in frustration with her own weakness, Felicity stared at the bottle in indignation. Clearly this water wasn’t doing its job! 

Her mind was apparently determined to rehash the entire evening and, she silently admitted to herself, she had absolutely no idea how to proceed from here – or how to handle Oliver Queen.

The man was obviously far more astute than she had given him credit for, she thought, mentally kicking herself for her complacency. He hadn’t been fooled by her evasiveness at all. He had known all along that she was hiding things, and obviously he had been checking up on her! She had grossly underestimated him…

However, he had also said that he trusted her. That no matter what her secret was, he wanted to help when she decided she was ready to be helped. In fact, he had pretty much told her that he would help even if she didn’t want him to. And from what she’d seen so far, she was fairly certain that he wasn’t going to stop poking around unless she somehow convinced him to back off. 

A tiny voice in the back of her head told her that she had behaved rather ungratefully tonight when he had offered to help. 

But Oliver definitely did not need to get tangled up in her in life, she reasoned. He had no idea what getting mixed up with her could do to him. It was probably bad enough that she was working for him – although to be honest it hadn’t occurred to her until now that that could put him in any danger. 

A dull, throbbing ache was building in her back of her head, and Felicity closed her eyes for a moment, resting the cold bottle against her forehead. It was all such a mess! 

How was she going to stay under the radar while keeping her over-protective boss from getting mixed up in her troubles? How was she going to clear everything up so she could get on with her life with him tagging along as her self-appointed knight in shining amour? 

And most importantly – what was she supposed to do about this…this thing…that had practically exploded between them tonight? 

The right thing to do would most likely be to just quit her job and leave with no forwarding address, she thought. But her every instinct screamed at her to stay. She didn’t want to leave Oliver Queen or his firm. She liked it there - and she liked him! 

With a slight shiver Felicity once again recalled the way his arms had felt around her, when he caught her. A solid band of muscle, that could probably have crushed her but instead had held her gently – or at least it would have been gentle if it hadn’t been for that flash of electrifying awareness that she suddenly seemed to experience every time he touched her.

But no! She immediately slammed the lid on those thoughts. She did not ‘like’ Oliver Queen! Of course she didn’t. She couldn’t. I didn’t make any sense. She hardly knew him! And, she reminded herself again, he was her boss! 

Of course, the way she was carrying on she might need to get that tattooed on her hand as a constant reminder, the annoying little voice in the back of her head told her with an I-told-you-so attitude. 

“Oh, shut up!” she mumbled to herself, then immediately wondered how worried she should be that she was now officially arguing out loud with the voices in her head. 

Felicity resolutely finished her water, tossed the bottle in the recycling bin and headed for the bedroom. 

She was losing her mind, she thought, as she closed the blinds in the bedroom and switched on the small lamp on her bedside table. 

But maybe she was overthinking this? Maybe this was really a non-issue? She may have completely misread the situation tonight. Maybe he hadn’t been thinking about kissing her at all. Maybe he just had good reflexes? 

Or maybe, the little voice piped up again, maybe he had just wanted to keep her from falling and knocking herself out, because - maybe - he had already reached his quota of unconscious females for one night! 

That was probably it, she realized somewhat regretfully. He probably hadn’t thought about kissing her at all, he had just been doing his knight-thing. 

And here she was reading all kinds of things into it! Felicity pulled a face in embarrassment. Thank God she hadn’t done anything! How awkward would that have been? 

Feeling oddly unsatisfied with that conclusion, she stifled a yawn, and turned down the duvet. She was exhausted she realized, but she had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to sleep. Her head was spinning, and the dull throbbing in the back of her head was becoming more acute by the minute. 

Shrugging out of her dress, she decided that a shower might help her relax. She draped the dress over a chair, followed by her underwear. Then she twisted her hair into a loose bun on top of her head and secured it with a few pins from a small ceramic bowl she used for keeping odds and ends. 

At the moment the bowl held hairclips and pins, a set of keys she didn’t know the use for – but she was afraid to get rid of them in case it turned out they went to something in the building. There was also an assortment of flash-drives, and an un-opened box of promotional breath mints from a company in Boston. 

Her eyes lingered on the box of mints for a few seconds, a small frown appearing between her brows. Then she shrugged as if to rid herself of whatever images her mind was conjuring up, and headed to the bathroom to try and work some tension out of her body and quiet her head. 

Her last thought as the she stepped under the spray of hot water was that if she didn’t get a grip on the emotional mess she was in, Oliver was probably going to make the situation easy for her and fire her! She had better stop thinking about Oliver Queen, the man, and start seeing him as Oliver Queen, her boss!

 

***

It was a little before noon when Oliver finally pushed through the door to the office. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes, and he was reluctant to remove them even as his stepped inside. His eyes felt gravelly and his head was fuzzy from worry and lack of sleep. 

At Felicity’s suggestion he had returned to Thea’s place last night, and had spent the night on his sister’s couch. But that wasn’t the reason for his sleep-deprived state. His sister’s couch was large and very comfy, and he’d slept on it on several occasions in the past. Only last night, for some reason, he’d had trouble sleeping. 

But he didn’t need to examine the reasons for that too closely right now, he decided. He just needed coffee. Especially after the morning he had just had. 

Hearing the sound of tapping on a keyboard he steeled himself for coming face to face with Felicity. He was very aware that he was feeling both eager and reluctant to face his assistant this morning, not quite sure how to act after the intense moments they had shared last night. 

“So Felicity, about last night,” he began as he closed the door behind him. But then he looked up and took in the smiling woman coming towards him and the words he had prepared got stuck in his throat. He suddenly felt like a trout on dry land, like all the air had been sucked out the room, making him dizzy and reeling. 

Felicity Smoak had somehow managed to reinvent herself - once again – overnight. And he knew instantly that this time her re-incarnation was going to be his undoing! 

The fake-Goth, stand-offish, black-haired Felicity Smoak he had been able to handle around the office - even if her pout had been impossibly adorable. 

Last night’s blonde bombshell-Felicity Smoak had flipped his world 180 in a millisecond, but he had recovered enough to remind himself repeatedly that she was an employee and as such, not really a woman. At least not a woman he could ever go near no matter how tempting. Besides, she had been dressed for a party – not for the office.

But he hadn’t stopped to consider what blonde bombshell-Felicity Smoak would look like at the office – and, as it turned out, he did not know how to handle her on a daily basis!

Her blonde hair had been gathered in a high, smooth ponytail that seemed to be begging him to slide his fingers through the long, silky tresses. He body was covered in a fitted electric blue dress, that ended just below her knees, and left her arms bare. It should have been very modest, but somehow it accentuated every curve of her body when she moved. And as she moved he found his gaze slipping down – and he nearly groaned as his eyes followed those perfect legs, made even longer by a pair of nude patent leather stilettos.  
But the worst part – the part that completely did him in - was the pair of sexy-librarian glasses perched on her nose. The whole thing put together just spelled trouble he decided. She was like every forbidden fantasy he hadn’t even known he had! 

For a split second he almost missed the black-haired mystery-girl that had inhabited his office until yesterday. She had been much less distracting he thought absentmindedly, even though she’d had the same sweet smile as this blonde version... 

With an effort he pulled himself together and looked up – only to find blue eyes sparkling at him through those sexy glasses of hers, as if she was enjoying a private joke. And maybe she was, he thought briefly, belatedly realizing that he had yet to say a word. 

“I didn’t know you wore glasses,” he croaked, struggling to get a grip. 

“And good morning to you too, Mr. Queen,” she said, in a much too perky voice as she handed him a stack of phone messages. 

Why did she not look more tired? She had gotten home really late last night too, so by all rights she should have been as tired as he was. But she had probably slept like a baby, he thought resentfully – instead of tossing and turning all night like he had. 

“Morning Miss Smoak,” he belatedly replied in a mock serious tone, trying to make light of his own grumpiness, and very aware that last night’s illusion of control was thoroughly down the drain. 

“Why are we suddenly so formal?” he added, stifling a yawn.

“Oh, so you don’t usually expect your assistant, to address you like that?” a deep voice drawled from the corner. “That’s a relief!”

Oliver spun on his heel, shocked that he hadn’t noticed Dig sitting in the corner chair – the one used for clients waiting to see him. How could he possibly have missed him? Dig wasn’t exactly a small man and the front office was tiny! 

Hoping to cover up the fact that he had been distracted, Oliver tried to laugh it off. “I’m offended, Dig - you know I’m not big on ceremony,” he protested. 

“Anyway,” he said, “you two definitely have me at a disadvantage today.” Dangling the sunglasses from his fingers he ran a hand over his face. “I got zero sleep at Thea’s last night,” he said, his voice muffled behind his hand. 

“And I had to start the day with family-drama” he continued. “Before coffee!!” he added in a tone that made it sound like a violation of a very basic human right. 

“Good to see you’ve overcome all the obstacles thrown in your way then,” Dig commented drily. “What’s the drama? Is Thea okay? You should have called, though – I’ve been sitting here for an hour now bothering Felicity.” The big man lifted a reproachful eyebrow at him before winking conspiratorially at Felicity. 

“It was no bother, “ Felicity said, smiling at Dig. “It’s been very enlightening actually.” 

Oliver looked at the two of them for a minute, feeling oddly out of sync with the world.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” he said, fidgeting with the sunglasses. “It’s been that kind of morning – and yes, you’re right I should have called, but things got a little crazy. How about we go into my office and I’ll fill you in?” 

Dig gave him a look that clearly told him, that his friend knew when he was being evasive. But Dig didn’t say anything. He just nodded and turned to Felicity. “Remember what I told you,” he said and winked at her again. Then he strolled into Oliver’s office without looking at him. 

Oliver was about to follow his friend, when Dig’s words suddenly registered.

“Wait, what did he tell you?” he asked, turning towards Felicity, not quite able to keep the suspicion off his face. 

Felicity just laughed and shrugged. “Not your concern boss,” she said. “Coffee is on in your office,” she added before taking a seat behind her computer screen again. 

He noticed that she was being a little too perky perhaps, and that she was avoiding looking him in the eye. He wondered for a second if maybe Miss Smoak wasn’t as completely unaffected by whatever it was that had happened between them last night, as she was letting on. 

On a sudden inspiration her leaned on her desk. “Actually, would you mind joining us, Felicity?” he asked. 

Startled, she looked up. 

“You’re the boss,” she said giving him an inquisitive look as she got up again. Then she grabbed her tablet and walked ahead of him into his office. “But I’m not drinking that vile brew you call coffee!” she said over her shoulder. 

Chuckling, Oliver followed and dumped his coat over the back of his chair. Then he poured himself a cup of coffee and tried not to wince at the taste, as he took the first sip. 

Coffee in hand, he dropped into his chair, and faced Dig and Felicity. 

“Okay, listen both of you,” he said. “We might as well all be here for this, because I’m going to need both of you on this job. First of all, good work last night – we got the information we needed. We meet with RoboMed’s head of security later this afternoon, and I think our client will be very satisfied.” 

“That said, I’m afraid this assignment may just have gotten complicated… a lot!” he added in a serious tone. He took a deep breath, organizing his thoughts, before filling Dig and Felicity in on the events of the morning. 

***

Thea had woken up early that morning - with a killer hangover as predicted. But what he hadn’t expected was her reaction. 

From the moment she woke up, she had been freaking out because she seemed to have a big black hole where her memory from last night was supposed to be – from about the time dinner ended, till she woke up in her own bed to be exact. And she repeatedly assured him that she hadn’t had a lot to drink the previous night. She was adamant that she hadn’t been drunk! 

But she couldn’t explain what had happened. All she knew was that one minute she was having fun, dancing with her friends, and the next she had blacked out. 

She didn’t remember sitting in the empty banquet hall, she didn’t remember being carried out the back, and she definitely didn’t remember being sick behind a dumpster in the parking lot! 

She was horrified that a couple of complete strangers had witnessed her ‘indisposition’ as she chose to call it – although she was grateful that someone had made sure she was cleaned up, Oliver told them, with a grateful nod to Felicity. 

But, his sister’s feelings aside, something felt terribly off about the whole thing. 

Oliver had spent the morning tracking down his sister’s friends who were at the party last night, to have them confirm her story. As it turned out, they had all been surprised when Thea had suddenly started acting drunk, because all through dinner she hadn’t had a single drop of alcohol. As a matter of fact, they had been giving her a hard time over it, teasing her that she was playing nice for her brother’s sake.  
She’d had a few glasses of champagne before dinner, they all recalled, but nothing after that – certainly not nearly enough to explain her sudden disorientation or the fact that she seemed to be in a drunken stupor within half an hour of leaving the dinner table. 

They had all just assumed that she had hit the bar hard after dinner, her friend Amy had told him a little defensively, when he had pushed her to recall what his sister had been doing. 

At this point Oliver’s mood had started plummeting fast!

It was clear to him, that if Thea hadn’t been drinking, someone must have slipped her something to make her pass out. And that begged the questions who and why? 

On the one hand, if the purpose of drugging her had been to abduct her or take advantage of her, it seemed to have been a failed attempt. 

But what if the purpose hadn’t been to get to Thea, but had been to distract him? Then he had to assume it had been a success. But that would imply that someone knew he was going to be at that party, working - and for whom. And what had they wanted to achieve by distracting him?

They needed to get to the bottom of that – and until they did, they had to assume that they had been played somehow.

Oliver finished his story, and leaned back in his chair with a sigh. 

“Oh, and Felicity,” he added as an afterthought. “I’m going to need you to run this down to police head quarters for me,” he said, producing a syringe full of dark liquid. “I have a friend down there, who’ll help us analyze this blood sample. Hopefully it’ll tell us something about what happened to Thea last night.” 

He looked up and caught Felicity staring at him, a strange expression on her face. 

“Did you have a question?” he asked when she didn’t show signs of moving. 

She was silent for a beat, just staring at him. 

“What...who are you?” she finally asked in a strained voice, an incredulous look on her face. 

“What do you mean?” he asked, puzzled by her question. 

“Let me get this straight,” she said, visibly pulling herself together. “You were at a party last night, and wound up spending the night at your passed-out-drunk sister’s place. And this morning she tells you a horrific story about being drugged – and you just happen to have a syringe on your person, so you decide to draw some of her blood for testing. And you also just happen to have a ‘friend’ who can do that for you? Is that about right?” 

He nodded cautiously, not really knowing where she was going with this.

“But…who does that?” she asked, clearly not expecting an answer, because she immediately continued.  
“Normal people don’t do that Oliver,” she said. “Normal people call the police and get a doctor to draw the blood and run the tests.” 

She cocked her head questioningly, this time waiting for him to explain himself. 

“Well, I just thought it would be quicker this way,” he said quietly, not entirely sure how to appease her. 

Dig snorted with laughter, and looked like he was about to make a comment on just what kind of person acted like that, so Oliver quickly decided to cut him off. 

“What’s important,” he said trying to get them back on track, “is that I have the blood sample and I have a good friend at the police department who will run the test for me – he owes me a favor and will do it off the books, so it’s a lot quicker than if I have to wait for normal processing.” 

Felicity looked at him, one eyebrow raised, in an ‘are you for real?’-attitude. 

“He’s a forensic scientist,” Oliver felt the need to elaborate. “He works at the crime lab. He’ll do this and be discreet about it. I don’t want the story about Thea Queen being drugged hitting the news – that story would never be in her favour!” 

Felicity digested that for a moment, then she nodded. “Okay, I’ll drop it off. But we’re not done talking about this…” she waved her hand in the air, indicating his entire person. 

“What did you say this guy’s name was again?” she added.

“Allen,” Oliver said, placing the syringe gingerly in her hand. “Barry Allen. I’ll call ahead and tell him to expect you.”


	7. Meet Barry Allen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity meets Barry when she brings the blood sample for testing, and the two quickly becomes friends. In fact, Felicity is fast on her way to becoming friends with all of Oliver's friends and his family too and it has him on edge, even if he doesn't quite know why. At the same time, Oliver is launching a more thorough investigation into Felicity's past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again thanks for the comments and likes - it means a lot :-) 
> 
> Things are moving on several fronts in my story right now, but I hope it doesn't get too confusing. 
> 
> Anyway, the focus is - as always - on the developing relationship between Oliver and Felicity, who are discovering that they are definitely worthy adversaries - or allies, depending on the situation.

Oliver leaned back in his chair and watched as Felicity left the office, her blond ponytail swaying, and the syringe firmly clasped in her hand. 

“Well, that was smooth, Oliver” Dig said, with an amused smile, when the door closed behind her. “I take it you haven’t told her much about yourself, have you?” his friend observed astutely.   
“Oliver?” he repeated, when he didn’t get an answer straight away. 

“I’ve told her what she needs to know,” Oliver finally said, in a tone that made it clear the topic was not up for discussion. 

Dig looked at him for a moment, a slightly puzzled look on his face.

“Oh!” he said, as understanding suddenly dawned on him. “You’re in trouble with this girl, aren’t you?” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Oliver said dismissively. “She’s my assistant. She works for me. She doesn’t need to know anything about me except that I’m her boss, and that I’m one of the good guys.” He looked at his friend defiantly, daring him to disagree.

“You like her, Oliver,” Dig said. It was a statement. Not a question. 

“You like her, and I think you would like to really make her a part of your operation – maybe even more. And you can’t do that without telling her.” Dig said with that too keen understanding that was a real life-saver at times, but which right now felt very inconvenient.

“You don’t understand, Dig,” Oliver said. “She’s my assistant, and yes, I like her, but not the way you seem to think.”   
But the minute the words left his mouth, he realized with an odd sense of shock that they weren’t entirely true. However, that was beside the point right now, he reminded himself. He’d deal with that complication later.

“She’s a good person, Dig,” he continued. “She’s smart, funny and very good at her job – but I also think she’s in trouble and I want to help her.” He picked up a pen and started banging it rhythmically on the edge of the desk. 

“She won’t let me, though,” he added with a frown. “I’m trying to figure out what her problem is so I can fix it, but she’s fighting me.” Oliver’s frustration was obvious as he got up and started pacing the floor impatiently.

“Last night, I thought I might have gotten through to her, but she shut me down,” he continued, as he paced back and forth between the door and his desk. Then he suddenly grinned and shook his head in grudging respect, as he recalled her fierce independence and stubborn refusal to talk to him. 

“But I’m not waiting for her permission to help,” he added, renewed determination in his voice. He stopped pacing and turned to face Dig. 

“Of course you’re not,” Dig said, rolling his eyes derisively. 

“She may not be ready to trust me yet,” Oliver said, pointedly ignoring his friend’s attitude. “But I’ll show her that she can. I told her flat out that I intend to find out what she’d hiding from and that I want to help.”  
“Now, what I want you to do,” he said pointing a finger at Dig, suddenly sounding very business-like, “is to get on the next flight to Boston and start digging.” He dropped back down in his chair, and looked expectantly at Dig.

“You do know I don’t work for you, right?” Dig said sardonically. 

“I’ve managed to find out a few things from here,” Oliver carried on, as if he hadn’t heard his friend’s comment.   
“But I think we’re going to need to talk to some people out there to figure out what this is all about. Whatever trouble she’s in, it seems to have started while she was still at MIT – and I have a contact in Boston who can help. It has to be done very discreetly though, which is why it has to be the old-fashioned gumshoe-approach.” 

Dig regarded him in silence for a moment. Oliver could almost taste the disapproval emanating from the big man.

“You know, Oliver,” Dig said slowly. “There may be good reasons why she wants to keep this from you – whatever this is. I get that you’ve taken this investigator-persona to heart – and I know that you sometimes take it upon yourself to investigate a little beyond the scope of your given assignment – all in the interest of justice of course…” Dig paused and looked at him meaningfully.   
“But Oliver, this feels different. This feels…personal.” Dig carried on. “You care about this girl, and want to help her – it’s personal. And personal means it could cloud your judgement.”

“I don’t care how it feels Dig,” Oliver said testily. “I just have to do this and I need you to go out there for me. I can’t leave here right now – I have to stay and deal with this thing with my sister, so please, can you just go and do this for me?” 

Dig searched his friend’s face speculatively, weighing his options. Then he sighed and closed his eyes.   
“I just know I’m going to regret this,” he finally said. “But I kind of like your Miss Smoak – so okay. I’ll go.” 

 

***

Police Headquarters turned out to be a modern streamlined building, taking up a full block in the heart of down town. It faced a small square with stark concrete fountains and benches, livened up by strategically placed raised flowerbeds and potted evergreens. People were out in numbers enjoying their lunches and making the most of the unexpected warmth of the afternoon. 

The day really was unseasonably warm Felicity thought, as she slipped off her jacket and made her way through the throng of people going about their day; a young mother pushing a stroller, a woman in a sharp business suit sipping from a take-out coffee while talking on a cell phone, a couple of office workers munching on sandwiches on the wide stone steps leading to the shallow basin of a fountain. 

Funny how a bit of sun made people in this city drop everything and make for the outdoors, she mused as she pushed through the heavy glass doors to the lobby. But that was probably the natural response to a glimpse of blue skies when you lived in a place where the rainy season was an all-year thing, only broken up by the occasional overcast or snowy day, she figured. 

The lobby was busy with people going in every direction. Felicity stopped just inside the doors, and was trying to get her bearings when a young man approached her hesitantly, a shy smile on his face. 

“Miss Smoak?” he asked, his face open and friendly.

“Yes,” she said. “I’m Felicity Smoak, but please, call me Felicity.” She smiled. “And I assume you’re Barry Allen?” she said, shaking his hand. 

“Yes,” he nodded, “yes, I’m Barry Allen, but just call me Barry.” He smiled that shy smile again, holding on to her hand a little longer than necessary, as if he had forgotten that he was holding it. 

She pulled at it lightly to remind him and he immediately let go, coloring slightly in embarrassment. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “It’s this way,” he added and shuffled ahead of her towards the elevator bay. 

“We’re in the basement, so I hope you’ve had your fill of sunlight,” he said as soon as the elevator doors closed. “I tend to forget the time and day – and sometimes even the season - when I’m working,” he confided. “Because there are no windows down there,” he added for clarification. 

Felicity had to bite her cheek not to laugh at his awkwardness. 

“Not that I’m complaining,” he added hurriedly, turning to her to make sure she didn’t misunderstand. “I love this job – and this lab is amazing! You should see some of the equipment we’ve got down here,” he went on, growing more animated by the minute. 

He was actually pretty adorable, Felicity thought as she listened to the young scientist’s enthusiasm.

“So how do you know Oliver?” she asked in an attempt to bring him back from his inventory of the lab’s technical equipment. 

“He didn’t tell you?” Barry asked, surprise coloring his voice. “Well, I guess he’s being discreet,” he added as an afterthought. 

“Anyway, Oliver helped me out a while back when I got in a bit of trouble,” Barry said vaguely. “And we’ve been friends ever since. Well, sort of. He’s pretty awesome, isn’t he?” he added turning to face her with an eager expression that spoke volumes of his adoration for Oliver Queen. 

Whatever Oliver had done for him, he had certainly made a friend for life, Felicity mused, determined to get the whole story out of Barry before the end of the day. 

But right now she needed Barry to focus on the blood sample.

“So,” She said, suddenly feeling uncertain as they stopped in front of a lab station that she assumed was Barry’s.   
“I don’t really know how this works exactly,” she continued with a gesture that encompassed him and the entire lab, which - thankfully - was devoid of people during lunch hour.

“Oliver gave me a sample that he needs to have analyzed. Should I just give it to you now? Or do we have to be a bit more circumspect about the whole thing…” she trailed off with an awkward laugh, feeling very foolish about this whole ‘cloak-and-dagger’ transaction. 

She was not a cloak-and-dagger type of person, she thought a little defensively. This whole situation had her feeling really out of her element! 

But Barry just laughed and seemed happy to take the sample from her without any attempt to hide it. 

“No, no need to be all that secretive about it,” he said. “I mean, sure, I’m not supposed to get it directly from you – it should be processed and submitted via the normal channels, but in the end, the result is the same. Sort of…” he trailed of as he studied the syringe she’d pulled out of her handbag and handed over. 

“But it’s probably best not to mention this to anyone, though,” he added giving her quick look. “We are cutting in line…and technically I shouldn’t be using police resources for something that hasn’t officially been filed yet… but that’s just a technicality, right?” he said, flashing her a smile before once again focusing on processing the sample. 

Barry was soon absorbed in preparations for the different tests he needed to run, leaving Felicity with ample opportunity for studying him. She hadn’t really known what to expect from a forensic scientist, except maybe someone a little older. Barry Allen was young. Her age she guessed, maybe even younger. 

He was tall and lanky, with dark hair that looked as if he’d just run a hand through it, leaving it all messy. His eyes were a sort of greenish-grey and full of humor. Kind, she thought. He had kind eyes. And he seemed to smile a lot – and when he did, his awkwardness somehow disappeared. All in all he was pretty cute she thought. Not the rugged, almost-too-handsome-to-be-real looks of say…her boss, but he was absolutely attractive. And when he was concentrating hard on work like right now, he looked a little less like a precocious child and a lot more like a competent man.

Felicity was so lost in her private contemplations that she didn’t notice that Barry had finished his preparations and was talking to her. 

“Felicity?” he repeated, placing a hand on her arm. “Are you okay?”

“What? Sorry? Oh, I’m fine, thank you,” she blurted out, trying to snap out of her reverie.   
“I was just thinking about…you know, things…” she added, with a flustered smile. 

“So, what now?” she asked, trying to seem more collected.

“Now we wait,” Barry said, smiling warmly. “It’ll take a while for some of these tests to run, so what do you say we go and get a cup of coffee while we wait? You can tell me a little bit about yourself – Oliver never mentioned you before, so I take it you’re new to his business?”

“Right,” Felicity said returning his smile – because you just couldn’t help but smile at this man, she realized. “Coffee sounds good – is there a place somewhere close by we can go? Or is your office coffee drinkable?” 

Barry barked out a laugh and steered her towards the elevator. 

“No I’m afraid our office brew is just as lethal as you’d expect from a public agency,” he said. “But there’s an excellent little coffee shop just around the corner.”

“Lead the way,” Felicity said, sending her new friend a big smile as she entered the elevator. 

 

***

The late afternoon sun was slanting through the wall of windows that made up one end of Thea’s living room, casting the whole room in a golden glow. It looked completely different in daylight Felicity thought absentmindedly as she and Barry walked in. 

She was a little on edge about being here again, as if she had been trespassing when she was here last night or something. Which was just silly, she told herself, but she couldn’t quite shake the feeling that she had somehow been an uninvited spectator to some very private moments in this young woman’s life, and she was irrationally nervous about meeting her again. 

Oliver was on the couch going through some papers when they walked in. Noise coming from the kitchen area gave away Thea’s whereabouts. 

Felicity was suddenly glad that Barry was there too, and that she wasn’t alone with the Queen siblings. She didn’t want to feel like the only out-sider right now. 

In a gesture that was both unconscious and familiar, she slipped her hand into the crook of Barry’s arm for support. 

If Barry was surprised, he didn’t show it. He just squeezed her hand lightly, and continued into the apartment. 

At the sound of the door closing behind them, Oliver looked up. He smiled at Felicity, and gave her a curt nod of thanks. His eyes drifted briefly to her hand resting on Barry’s arm and she thought she saw a flash of something in his eyes, but she couldn’t be sure what, because his face immediately settled back into a neutral expression. 

Whatever he was thinking, he seemed to shake out of it quickly though, as he got up to greet them properly. 

“Barry,” he said with a friendly smile, clasping the younger man’s hand in a firm handshake. “Thanks for doing this. I really appreciate it – I don’t want Thea exposed to the kind of stories this could lead to, but we need to know if someone tried to drug her.” 

“Anytime Oliver,” Barry said with an easy smile. “It’s no problem – and I enjoyed the company,” he said smiling warmly a Felicity.   
“Besides,” he added turning back to Oliver, “your cases always bring me the most interesting stuff.” 

“Interesting?” Oliver asked, suddenly sounding tense. 

“Oh, well, yes, I mean, interesting from a scientific point of view of course,” Barry replied, instantly flustered. “I didn’t mean that…I mean, I get that it’s your sister, so…of course not interesting, but…okay, how about I just tell you what I found?” he asked casting a desperate look at Felicity.

“That would be good,” Oliver said. His voice had suddenly gone very quiet and almost menacing in its intensity.

Felicity looked from one man to the other in surprise, sensing that the level of tension had gone from zero to ridiculous in a split second. She wasn’t sure what had just happened, but knew instantly that it needed to be defused if they were to get any work done. 

“Why don’t we all go and sit down?” she said decisively, stepping in between them. She smiled encouragingly at Barry, and grabbed his arm to steer him to the couch. She pushed him down unceremoniously. Then she turned to face Oliver, still with a bright smile fixed on her lips. 

“I’ll just go and get Thea, then we can all hear it together,” she said, placing a hand on his arm, trying to send a silent message to him, that he was being a bully and he needed to stop! 

To her intense surprise he seemed to get the message. At least he made a visible effort to relax, before sitting back down opposite Barry. He gave her a long sideways look, before focusing his attention on Barry once more – this time in a much less hostile fashion, she noted. 

Feeling almost certain that her boss wasn’t going to go into over-protective big brother mode in the five seconds it would take her to go to the kitchen, she turned her back on the two men and went in search of Thea. 

She could still feel his eyes boring into her back as she walked away though, almost making her trip over her own feet.

“Thea?” she called as she approached the kitchen. 

A head of artfully messy dark hair popped up from under the counter, and a pair of green eyes studied her with friendly curiosity. 

Something crashed to the floor behind the counter with an enormous bang and clatter, and the head disappeared again, followed by a string of swear words. 

“Are you all right?” Felicity asked cautiously, stepping up to peek behind the counter. Thea was squatting in the middle of a pile of pots and utensils, which by the looks of things, had been crammed into the cupboard she had just opened. 

“Yeah, sorry about the noise,” Thea said. “I was just looking for a bowl, but I got the wrong cupboard I think…” 

Felicity watched in amusement as Thea stacked the pots haphazardly back into the cupboard and slammed the door shut. The younger woman held her breath and looked at it a second. Finally satisfied that it would hold, she got back up and stuck out her hand. 

“Hi,” she said with a huge smile. “I’m Thea, but I guess you already know that. You must be Felicity. My brother’s told me all about you. I’m so glad to finally meet you,” the younger woman gushed, all the while pushing the smaller pile of utensils still on the floor, under the counter with her foot. 

“But I guess we’ve already met – sort of,” she carried on, focusing her attention on pushing the utensils out of the way. “Thanks for all of ...that,” she said, waving her hand vaguely in the air. “I don’t really remember anything about last night – and I don’t actually remember you,” she said looking back up at Felicity, “Sorry,” she said, sincerity shining in her eyes. 

“It’s really nice to finally meet you too,” Felicity laughed, “and don’t worry about last night. I think we’ve already established that was out of your control,” she added with a reassuring smile.   
“In fact, Barry Allen has been running some tests, and he has some answers for you about what might have happened,” she added, gesturing towards the couches where Oliver and Barry were apparently keeping up a civil conversation. 

“Perfect!” Thea said with a happy laugh. “That’ll give me an excuse to quit pretending that I know my way around my own kitchen.” She stuck out her tongue in distaste. “I’m a take-out kind of girl,” she added with a wink, before she grabbed Felicity by the hand and pulled her towards the couches. 

 

***

Someone had drugged his sister! And with a very rare drug too, it had turned out. Oliver stared grumpily out on the darkening skyline of the city, feeling his irritation grow. 

From the kitchen came the sound of voices as his sister and Felicity chatted easily. 

‘Great!’ he thought. As if the drugging wasn’t enough for a guy to process, it now seemed that his sister had fallen under the spell of his new assistant too!

He frowned angrily at the windowsill as if it had appeared there just to spite him. 

Thea absolutely adored Felicity! That had become very clear as the afternoon progressed and the four of them had discussed possible scenarios for why and how Thea had been drugged. It wasn’t just that Felicity had helped her last night, he thought. It was like there was an instant chemistry between the two women, making it seem like they had been friends forever. 

And that love-fest seemed to be going around, he thought peevishly. 

Dig had liked her instantly too. So much so that he had agreed to take on a job that he apparently found ill-advised at best. Oliver was well aware that it was irrational, but somehow it just felt like a personal affront to him. 

And then there was Barry Allen…Oliver almost growled at the thought of the slightly geeky scientist that he had come to think of as his own personal forensics team. He really liked Barry a lot, but it was painfully obvious that the young man was well on his way to crushing on Felicity after spending just one measly little afternoon with her! 

Oliver ground his teeth in quiet frustration. He was feeling inexplicably resentful about all of this. 

The fact that they all immediately seemed to claim her as their friend…well it just made him feel cheated somehow. She was his assistant! 

The voices from the kitchen got louder as the two women moved back into the living area and settled on the couch again, this time carrying a bottle of wine and glasses. 

His eyes strayed from the skyline to the curve of Felicity’s hip and legs, as she curled up in the corner of the couch facing his sister. 

He felt his irritation lift slightly as he focused on the conversation between the two women. 

Felicity was going over last night’s party with Thea again, asking her to remember anything she’d had to eat or drink, anyone she’d touched. 

That was what he should be worrying about, he reminded himself. Not the fact that his assistant seemed to be winning over all his friends and family faster than he could introduce her!

His eyes lingered on her as his mind drifted once again to what could possibly be hidden in her past, that could have caused her to run and hide like this. 

“Oliver?” Thea’s voice snapped him out of his reverie. 

“Aren’t you joining us?” she asked innocently. But the mischievous gleam in her eye didn’t escape him as he moved to sit on the couch opposite the two women. 

“I was just telling Felicity that she’s accomplished a miracle by getting you on the dance floor last night. Such a shame I wasn’t conscious enough to see – I’ll be sure not to miss it next time.” Thea smiled at him sweetly. 

He felt heat rushing up his neck and he glanced quickly at Felicity, but she seemed unaffected by Thea’s chatter. 

“It was all part of the job,” he mumbled a bit roughly, concentrating on pouring himself a glass of wine.

“Yes, your brother is full of surprises,” he heard Felicity say. 

He looked up just in time to catch a meaningful glance from her, that left him in no doubt, that she had not forgotten their conversation that morning, and that she still intended to grill him on the whole syringe-thing.

‘Well,’ her thought. ‘It seems two can play that game, miss Smoak. You show me one of your secrets - I’ll show you one of mine!’ He almost chuckled to himself, suddenly feeling much better about the events of the day.


	8. You show me yours...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity gets a glimpse of Oliver's other life and starts to realize she might have caught a lion by its tail...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with an update - have loads of inspiration at the moment and so many things need to happen - I'm trying not to rush things, but am getting very excited myself for what is to come. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy this next step in their journey...

The room was like a dungeon, cold and dark except for the fluorescent overhead lights illuminating the centre, where the two men were attacking each other viciously. Over and over again they went at each other, striking with long poles, punching, kicking, swiping at each other’s legs, catching each other in vice grips around the neck. 

Felicity stood quietly just inside the door where she had entered from the back alley, letting her eyes adjust to the semi-darkness. The light didn’t reach the door and the outer edges of the big room and she didn’t think the two men had seen her yet. 

She silently observed the fighters. She was strangely intrigued as she watched the two move through a series of attacks in what she assumed was a combination of martial arts techniques. There could be no doubt that they were extremely skilled at what they were doing. Even she could see that. They were like highly trained dancers moving through an intricate series of steps, only with a lot more grunting and potential for broken bones, she thought.

The two men tumbled to the hard mat once again, the crash echoing off the bare concrete walls, and a loud puff of air erupted as one of them got the breath knocked out of him. 

They rolled apart and lay flat on their backs a few feet apart, both of them breathing hard. 

She watched from the shadows as they got to their feet, shook hands, and chatted amicably for a while. 

She knew she should move out in the light, but somehow her body just wasn’t cooperating, and she was vaguely aware that her breathing had gone a little shallow.

“I’ll just hit the shower and get going,” she heard Dig say. “I’ll call you later from the airport.” 

She watched as he bent down and grabbed a towel off of the floor and wiped the sweat off his face. He draped the towel around his neck, and waved at Oliver, who was busy putting away the poles and various other weapon-like instruments that had apparently been part of their sparring. 

Felicity watched Dig walk towards the opposite corner of the big room, and push through a heavy steel door painted gun-metal grey. He disappeared from view and the door slammed shut behind him. 

Felicity tore her eyes away from the door and scanned the room for Oliver. 

He had finished stowing the equipment, and was doing some crazy weight training exercises at the end of the lit-up area, where a bunch of stark metal-constructions were lined up. They didn’t look like any gym-equipment Felicity had ever seen before. They reminded her more of medieval torture devices – but then again, she wasn’t a very frequent guest at the local gym, so maybe she wasn’t quite up-to-date on this, she reasoned.

She continued to watch in spellbound fascination as Oliver stripped off his sweat-soaked  
t-shirt, and dropped it on the concrete floor, dimly aware that she should probably let him know she was in the room. 

He moved to a tall metal construction – a bit like the bars used by gymnasts, she thought, but taller, and all metal. He stood below the metal-bar that rested in holds, running up both side-poles at evenly spaced intervals. His naked torso glistened in the light, and he was breathing hard. Suddenly he jumped up lightly, grabbing hold of the bar with both hands. He hung there stretched out for a minute, giving her ample opportunity to study him. 

She felt heat rising up her neck, as she let her eyes roam over his body. Hard abs gleamed and muscles rippled in his arms and chest as he flexed in preparation. He puffed out a breath of air, and she felt her mouth go dry as she watched muscles shifting under taut skin as he settled himself on the bar. Felicity held her breath as she watched him swing up and, in a move that seemed to defy gravity, started climbing the poles by shifting the metal bar upwards to the next hold with each swing of his body.

She forgot time and place as she watched him move, seemingly effortlessly up and down the metal-structure, muscles shifting, straining, but not a sound came from him. He kept going up and down in a punishing rhythm, and all she could do was watch. 

Felicity wasn’t aware that she had moved, but suddenly his gaze honed in on her, his eyes locking with hers. She realized she had been slowly moving forwards and was now standing on the edge of the lit-up area, her toes touching the mat. 

He kept his eyes locked with hers but didn’t say a word. He had stopped moving and just hung from the metal bar, arms stretched out above his head, eyes on her.

She started to feel light-headed. His eyes were boring into hers and she couldn’t look away. She couldn’t breathe and she felt sweat breaking out on the back of her neck.

Oliver didn’t break eye contact. He kept his eyes firmly on hers even as he let go of the metal bar and dropped cat-like to the ground. He landed with hardly a sound and stood for second, still without a word.

Then he strolled towards her, slowly, deliberately. 

Felicity felt like she was about to start hyperventilating. Was the room suddenly very hot? It was definitely spinning around her and there was just not enough air. She needed air…

Then he was in front of her. His eyes, dark and unfathomable, gave her no clue to what he was thinking. He took a step closer, almost toe to toe with her now. Unable to move, she watched as he reached out a hand towards her, leaned forwards, and finally broke eye contact as his gaze shifted to the side. Felicity closed her eyes in relief, and felt air rush into her lungs, as she waited for his touch.  
But it never came.  
Her eyes flew open again and she saw him reach around her, to grab a towel off the table behind her. 

He was so close she could feel the body-heat radiating off him, heating her skin through the fabric of her dress. So close she could have licked the beads of sweat off his chest had she stuck out her tongue…

With a start Felicity came to – or whatever it was - suddenly conscious that she had been like a complete zombie for the past few minutes – or was it hours?

She looked up to find Oliver looming over her, an amused look on his face, as he patted the sweat off his brow with the towel.

“I see you found it all right,” he said, his voice slightly husky she thought. 

“What?” she said, her mind still having trouble computing. “Oh, yes, right…found it. No problem,” she muttered quickly, as reality came crashing back and she remembered why she was there. 

He hadn’t moved and she found herself facing his very naked chest, covered in a light sheen of sweat, and she was instantly distracted again. His body was like a work of art her mind registered somewhere. It was perfectly sculpted, hard muscles clearly defined under the taut skin, and it would have been flawless except for a number of garish scars criss-crossing his skin in several places. 

They were all different, a still functioning part of her brain noticed. As if the wounds responsible for them had been inflicted in different ways, creating a patchwork of scar tissue across his beautiful body. 

She unconsciously leaned closer, wondering what it would feel like to touch that body. How the hard muscle would feel under her touch, how the texture of the scars would feel under her finger tips, how he would taste…

“Felicity?” he said, interrupting her vivid daydream. 

“What?” she heard herself blurt out – again - blushing furiously as she realized that she had been seconds from licking her boss’ naked chest. 

‘What is wrong with me!’ she thought, desperately trying to regain some measure of control. 

“Did you get the reports I asked for?” he asked slowly, frowning at her obvious confusion. 

“Yes!” she said, relieved to finally be on track again. “The reports, yes, I have them. Right here. In my bag,” she said, lifting her handbag slightly. 

Oliver smiled, humor dancing in his eyes, as he held out a hand to her. 

She looked at it, for a split-second wondering if he wanted her to take his hand. Then she realized he was asking for the reports. 

With a grimace she turned to the table behind her, set her bag down, and pulled out the reports. 

“There isn’t much here,” she said, her back still turned to him. “But I did find a list of companies that produce this particular drug in a medically approved form. And Barry is running some more detailed tests to see if we can find any traces of where it might have been stored and doctored, where the water it was mixed with might have come from – that sort of thing,” she added. She found that it was much easier to keep her train of thought when she wasn’t looking at a half naked Oliver Queen. 

“Good,” he said, “We also need to take a look at some of the employees from the gala the other night, and I’m going to need you to stay in touch with Barry Allen while I ...interview, some of the usual suspects,” he added, an odd inflection on the word ‘interview’ she noticed.

She still hadn’t turned around to face him and it was becoming a bit awkward she thought, having a conversation with a man while facing away from him, staring at a concrete wall. 

But she didn’t trust herself to look at him. She couldn’t believe how flustered he made her. It wasn’t like her to be affected by a man like this. And the novelty of her own reaction made her nervous. Like she could suddenly no longer trust her own instincts.

Except, the small voice in the back of her mind was telling her, maybe her instincts had it right – she was over-thinking things and maybe she should loosen up and try to let her instincts do the thinking for once. 

Shaking her head at her own inner dialogue, she turned around and offered him the reports, avoiding eye contact, and trying to look everywhere but at him. 

“I’ll head to the office then,” she said to the concrete pillar to his left, “and get started on backgrounds on those employees.”

“Good,” he repeated, “and I’ll have Barry give you a call with the lab-results – I’ll be back later in the day. Then we can catch up.”

She nodded, studying the ceiling over the mat-area.

“Oh, and Felicity,” he said, his voice suddenly warm. “Thanks for everything you did yesterday – for Thea, I mean,” he said. 

“No problem. I was just happy to help,” she said in a strangled voice, looking pointedly at the floor at his feet. 

He chuckled, and Felicity almost jumped out of her skin, when she felt his fingers under her chin lifting her head to look her in the eyes. 

“Are you okay, Felicity?” he asked softly. “You look a little flushed.”

“S-sure,” she stammered, “I’m fine…why would you think otherwise? I mean, you’re just doing your ...thing… training-thing…naked. I mean not naked!” she babbled on, painfully aware of his amusement. “You’re sweaty…”  
‘Oh God – shoot me now!’ she thought, clamping a hand over her mouth as if to physically stop herself from talking. 

“Yeah, I should hit the shower,” he laughed. “I’ll see you back at the office later…Felicity,” he added, before turning towards the door Dig had disappeared through earlier. 

She heard him chuckle again, as she went back to her concentrated study of the concrete floor. But then she remembered something, and her head snapped back up.

“By the way,” she said to his retreating back. “Did I hear Dig say he was going to the airport?” She frowned in confusion. “Where is he going? I thought he was helping us with the case?”

Oliver turned around, suddenly looking a lot less sure of himself she noticed. In fact, he looked downright shifty, she thought, as she watched his eyes flicker, before finally settling somewhere between her stomach and chest. 

“I asked him to check up on another case for me,” he said vaguely. “I need to stay here to deal with this drug-thing and find out if it’s related to our case. But I have other cases to look into as well, and Dig promised to help out with one of them. He’ll be back in a few days,” he finished, sounding a little defensive, she thought.

“But…wait a second,” he said, as something seemed to dawn on him. He frowned and gave her a penetrating look. 

“How do you know that? Just how long were you watching us?” he asked.

‘Oh crap’, she thought. ‘I’m so busted!’

“I…not long really,” she said in what she hoped was a breezy tone. “I got there just as you two were finishing up. I was just curious…I mean, I had no idea you did that…that fighting-thing,” she heard herself saying. “But I guess it makes sense - both of you being in navy and all…” she trailed off. 

Oliver gave her a long look. Then he suddenly smiled, gave her a wink and a wave, and then he was gone.

 

***

It was early afternoon by the time Oliver made it back to the office. This morning’s sparring session with Dig had done much to clear his head of all the cobwebs and confusion the previous couple of days had produced. He felt much more like himself again.

He hadn’t made much progress with the people he’d tracked down and talked to during the course of the morning, but at least he had eliminated a bunch of suspects. That was the dreary part of detective work. Now he was just hoping Felicity had had more luck with her background searches or that Barry had produced some answers for them. 

He checked his watch to calculate the time on the east coast. Dig wouldn’t have landed yet, and when he did it would be too late to start work. He sighed. He’d have to wait till tomorrow with an up-date.

On a sudden impulse Oliver stopped at the small coffee house around the corner from the office and picked up two coffees before heading in. It couldn’t hurt to show some appreciation for his staff he decided, ignoring the little happy dance his own senses were doing at the aromas rising from the two lidded paper cups he was carrying. 

He pushed through the door to the front office, and was immediately assaulted by the sounds of rapid tapping on a keyboard and a female voice singing something up-beat and funky, but not entirely recognizable. 

He silently closed the door behind him and smiled as he watched his assistant at work. 

The first thing he noticed was that she had made good use of his company creditcard. Instead of just one computer, her desk was now home to a wall of large flat-screens, on which she seemed to be running multiple searches or analyses simultaneously – while singing along to whatever it was that was playing on her headset.

She stared at one screen where data was running in a seemingly endless stream, jotting down a note or two. Then she pushed off the desk and rolled her chair to the other end of the desk, to stare at another screen as if cross-referencing something. She wrote down something else, and was just about to push off again, when she suddenly stopped. 

She froze and sniffed the air a few times, before her head whipped around and she spotted him standing there just inside the door. 

He watched as her cheeks flushed a pretty pink, and she hastily pushed the headset off her head, and dropped it on the desk – never taking her eyes off the coffee cups in his hands. 

“You’re back,” she said, “and you have coffee!” 

“Note to self: never try to sneak up on Felicity Smoak with a cup of coffee in your hand,” he said with a grin. “Nice song by the way, what was that?”

She flushed an even deeper red, and squirmed a bit in her seat. 

“You heard that? Of course you heard that…” she mumbled.  
“Yeah well, I work better that way,” she said in a louder voice.  
“And I was here alone so I didn’t think it would bother anyone,” she added a little defiantly.

“Don’t look at me,” he said, still grinning. “I wasn’t bothered. It was cute,” he laughed. 

She ignored his comment and stared pointedly at the cups in his hand. “Is one of those cups for me?” she asked hopefully.

“As a matter of fact yes,” Oliver said. “I thought it would be a good time to sit down and compare notes – figure out where we are at. And I thought coffee might help us focus,” he handed over one of the cups and watched in amusement as she eagerly peeled of the lid and inhaled the aroma. 

“Why don’t you come in to my office and bring your…” for a second he looked over her impressive high-tech set-up and faltered. “Bring whatever you need for comparing notes,” he finished lamely. 

She flashed him an impish smile, grabbed her tablet and followed him into his office. 

For the next half hour they methodically went through everything they had managed to find out so far about the drug, the staff, and Thea’s friends. They hashed out all their theories as to why anyone might want to drug Thea Queen at a gala-event. And finally they tried cross-referencing with what they knew about their corporate espionage case to check for any possible connections. 

With a sigh Oliver leaned back in his chair, running his hands trough his hair in frustration.

“This makes no sense,” he said. “It’s as if whoever drugged her, did it for a prank – but no one could just accidentally have had access to that particular drug.” He reached for Barry’s report on the drug again, hoping to find something that they had missed. 

According to Barry’s findings the drug was rare, and only used in a handful of approved psychotropics. It was normally used in combination with other drugs because it had turned out to be hard to predict the effects if used alone. He read a detailed description of its uses and known effect, most of it gibberish to him, but he got the gist of it. 

The drug in its purest form was basically super-charged Rohypnol, making it the perfect drug to slip someone to make it look like they were roaring drunk or to incapacitate them. Except for one minor detail. Barry had discovered that the reason the drug wasn’t more widely used was that if the dosage wasn’t absolutely right the drug had an alarming tendency to leave the patient in a coma! 

Oliver swore under his breath as he finished reading Barry’s report. It seemed Thea had been lucky to escape with just a hangover and a chunk of her memory missing! 

Struggling to reign in his anger, he read on. 

At present there were only a handful of pharmaceutical companies that produced drugs with this component. Barry was busy running tests on all of those products to see if one of them could be the likely source of the drug that had knocked out Thea. If he was able to identify the product and the company, there was a chance they could trace it. Still a needle in a haystack he admitted to himself, but they had no other leads at the moment. 

His eyes drifted to Felicity, who was concentrating on a chart she’d been keeping on all interconnectivity between Thea’s drugging and their case. She was frowning in concentration, a pen stuck between her teeth as she typed something on her tablet. 

His eyes lingered on the pen for a moment. On her mouth… 

Felicity suddenly looked up, popping the pen out her mouth. “We should probably not rule out the possibility that this could be an attack on Thea and not related to our case,” she said.

“I agree,” he said quickly, hoping she hadn’t caught him looking. 

“I’ve been looking into her connections, friends, anything in her own life that could explain why someone would do this,” he added. “There are no obvious suspects but on the other hand threats and demands have been a part of her life since she was a little kid. My parents were extremely wealthy and influential and that made us all targets for the obvious reasons - greed, jealousy and of course your garden variety craziness.” He sighed and massaged the tight muscles in his neck. 

“All of that could still easily apply to her. I can’t rule it out at this point. So I’ll need to keep her protected at all times until I can figure this out.”

His assistant had gone very quiet he noticed. He looked up and found her studying him with a thoughtful expression on her face.

“You know, Oliver,” she said slowly. “I think this might be a really good time for you to tell me why it is that we’re doing this ourselves. Why haven’t we talked to the police yet? And don’t tell me Barry is the police – in this case he’s just a friend doing you a favor. Oh, and just so you know? At some point I’m going to find out why he seems to think he owes you his life,” she added in an aside. 

She looked at him speculatively for a moment. 

“And don’t think for a second I’ve forgotten that whole ‘I run around packing a syringe in case I need to draw a blood sample’-thing either,” she said. 

Feeling cornered and not really sure what he wanted to do, Oliver just stared at her for a moment, weighing his options. 

He could pretend he didn’t know what she was talking about. She’d never believe it of course, but he could be persistent. 

He could also go with full disclosure, tell her everything and hope for the best. He thought he knew her well enough at this point to be fairly certain that she wouldn’t run.  
Or he could use it as a bargaining chip… He could offer her answers in return for answers to his own questions. 

“All right Felicity,” he finally said. “Let’s talk.”

She settled back in her chair, a pleased smile on her face. 

“You first,” he said with a grin, enjoying the immediate return of her stubborn face. “You answer one of my questions – I’ll answer one of yours,” he said unable to keep a mischievous smile off his face. 

She crossed her arms over her chest, frowned and gave him a piercing look through those unfairly sexy glasses of hers. Seeing her like that almost made him wish she would refuse just so he could continue this discussion.

She opened her mouth to answer, but just then the door to his office sprang open and Thea barged in. 

“Sorry to interrupt,” she announced, clearly not sorry at all. “But I need you to call off those goons you’ve got tailing me,” she added.


	9. Smoak & Mirrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver is trying to protect his sister, but she isn't being very coorperative, so he decided to turn to underhanded methods with Felicity as a reluctant partner in crime. 
> 
> And if they happen to mix business and pleasure a little along the way, who can blame them? ;-)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys - crazy week with very little time for writing. I hope this chapter makes sense ...
> 
> On the up-side I pretty much have the next three chapters ready to go - in my head at least ;-)

“Thea! What are you doing here?” he exclaimed, jumping up as his sister stalked into his office. It was not the most cordial greeting, admittedly, but his sister’s timing could not have been worse! 

“What am I doing her?” Thea repeated in a disbelieving tone. “I’m telling you to call off your guard dogs, that’s what,” she said, hands on hips in a pose that she must have practiced in front of a mirror to achieve this level of sass, he thought. 

“Look,” she added. “I appreciate the gesture and I know you’re just being all big-brother-protective, but Oliver, I need to be able to live my life!” 

Thea’s gaze landed on Felicity, and her angry-face split in a huge grin as she happily bounded over to give her brother’s assistant a big hug. 

Oliver ran a hand over his face in frustration and sat back down in his chair, trying to think of the best way to appeal to his sister. 

“Thea, please,” he began, struggling to keep his voice calm. “We still don’t know who drugged you the other night or why,” he continued. “For all we know the person or persons who did that may try again. I just want you to be safe. So please, let my…friends…stay with you to make sure nothing happens,” he pleaded.

Letting go of Felicity, Thea turned back to face her brother, her expression once again changing at lightning speed from grinning affection to scowling displeasure. 

“No!” Thea was adamant. “Oliver, I can’t live my life with those muscle-freaks hanging over my shoulder. Do you have any idea how awkward it was to go dress-shopping with those …beef-cakes hovering?” she said making a vague gesture towards the door to the front office, where apparently the beefcakes in question had wisely decided to wait. 

“They insisted on checking the store - even the changing room - before I could go in!” she said, clearly outraged. “But I suppose I should just be grateful they didn’t insist on staying with me while I tried on dresses?” Thea finished acerbically, throwing her hands in the air. 

Oliver closed his eyes and counted to ten. 

“Look, Thea,” he tried again. “As long as we don’t know what this is about, I just think it’s safer if you keep a few men with you at all times. We’re doing all we can to figure this out, and as soon as we fix this, I’ll call them off, I promise,” he said earnestly. 

Thea leaned a slender hip against his desk and carefully studied his face. “Oliver, you can’t have me watched twentyfour-seven,” she said in a more reasonable tone.

“I have a date tonight,” she continued after a brief pause, “and I don’t intend to bring your men with me for a romantic evening out!” She looked at him stubbornly. 

But just as Oliver was about to launch back into his lecture on safety, she sighed and hung her head. She twisted a lock of hair around her finger, shoulders slumped, all of sudden appearing shy and vulnerable.

“I really like this guy, Oliver,” she said in a small, wheedling voice. She let out a trembling sigh and studied the toe of her high-heeled boot. “And I don’t want him to think that I’m some weirdo rich chick who can’t go out without an entourage!” she gave him a pleading look from under her eyelashes. 

“They won’t be ‘hovering’,” Oliver promised in a much gentler voice, somewhat sidetracked by his sister’s sudden vulnerability – even though he suspected it was at least partly an act. “You won’t even know they’re there.”

“Of course I’ll know,” Thea’s head snapped up, once again her usual assertive self. “Anyway, I’m not really here to negotiate with you,” she added loftily. “I’m here to tell you to call them off. I’m going out tonight and they aren’t coming!”

In another lightening-fast change of mood, Thea turned an excited face to Felicity.

“Alex is taking me to this new restaurant that’s opening downtown tonight,” she gushed. “The chef is supposed to be really, really good. I don’t know what he had to do to get us a table – it’s been booked out for months! It’s so romantic,” she went on, sounding very young and exuberant. 

“Hello?” Oliver said, waving his arms in the air trying to get her attention back. “We’re not finished with this conversation Thea,” he said, trying to sound authoritative. 

“Actually, we are,” she replied, and picked her purse up from where she had dumped it on his desk. 

“I’ve got to go and get ready for my big date, and I better not see any of your men anywhere near the restaurant tonight!” she smiled at him sweetly, but he more than sensed the steely resolve behind that smile. 

She waltzed over to kiss Felicity on the cheek before she swanned out of his office with a sassy wave over her shoulder, just as the door slammed behind her.

“Oh man!” Oliver slumped back in his chair and blew out a breath of air. 

“Well, there is just no way I’m letting her go without a protection-detail,” he mumbled to no one in particular. 

He closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose, trying to get his brain to come up with a solution that didn’t leave his sister unprotected on her date. 

“Oliver?” Felicity said hesitantly, breaking his concentration. He looked at her questioningly.

“Can I make a suggestion?” she asked, cocking her head in a way that made him glad he wasn’t trying to negotiate with her - he might as well have handed her the keys to his castle straight away, he realized. 

Grateful that she couldn’t read his mind he nodded and tried to pay attention to what she was saying.

“I’m with Thea on this one,” Felicity proceeded to say. “And before you bite my head off too,” she added quickly, “let me just explain.” 

He scowled at her but didn’t interrupt. 

“Thea has a point, Oliver,” she said calmly. “Having to bring bodyguards on a date would seriously hamper the romance!” she looked at him to check that he was still with her. 

“Thea trusts this guy,” she went on. “They are going to a public place – and no doubt a place that will gets lots of press on their opening night - so what can really go wrong while they’re at the restaurant?” she reasoned. 

“The gala was public too,” Oliver pointed out. “And someone got to her there. Felicity, I can’t not try and protect her. She’s my sister,” he said, hamming up the ‘worried brother’-face a bit. 

Felicity considered him for a moment. Then she sighed.

“Okay, I get that Oliver, but could you at least try and come up with a more unobtrusive way of keeping an eye on her? She’s really excited about this date. Don’t ruin it for her…”Felicity pleaded.

He thought he heard her mumble something that sounded like, “If only I had known about this in advance I could have done something myself!” But then he got distracted by that cute little wrinkle that appeared on her forehead whenever she was problem-solving. 

With an effort he pulled himself together and focused on the problem at hand, turning over different options in his mind. After a moments deliberation her pulled out his phone and started scrolling through his contacts. 

“Actually I know exactly how to do it,” he said decisively, his finger hovering over the connect-button. “And I’m going to need you to be my date again tonight, Felicity, is that all right?” he asked without looking up. 

“Whaaaa…? Why?” she asked, clearly taken aback. 

“We’re going too!” he announced, as if that was self-evident. “That way I can keep an eye on her myself.”

Felicity almost snorted with laughter. 

“Yeah, I’m sure that’ll work Oliver,” she said. “Seriously? You don’t think your sister is going to spot you a mile away? Her big brother showing up at her romantic date? How is that any better than forcing bodyguards on her?” She shook her head derisively at him.

“You really don’t think much of me do you, Felicity?” Oliver said with fake hurt in his voice. “I didn’t say we would be going to the same place.” He smiled as she frowned in confusion. 

“I happen to know that this new place, her date is taking her to, is just across the street from my favorite Italian restaurant. So I am going to call Lorenzo right now and book the window table for tonight,” he said, sounding very pleased with himself.

“We’ll make sure to be there before Thea and her date arrive, and I can watch them come and go, and at least make sure that she isn’t followed,” he explained. “I think I can manage to tail them myself from there to make sure he drops her off safely at her own apartment,” he added tersely. 

“No, Oliver!” Felicity’s answer was categorical. “You can’t do that. Even if you did get away with it without Thea spotting you – which is highly doubtful - she is going to be so angry with you if she ever finds out.”

“Felicity,” he said softly. “She’s my baby sister. I have to do something…please?” He was pleading shamelessly now. 

Felicity bit her lip, eyeing him speculatively. 

“But why do you even need a date for this?” she asked plaintively, clearly about to cave. 

“It would be way too conspicuous if I sat at that table for hours on my own,” he reasoned. “But a couple on a romantic date on the other hand? They can easily lose track of time with a bit of good wine and some gazing into each other’s eyes.”

He thought she blushed a little at that, but he couldn’t be sure because she suddenly got up and headed for her own desk.

“Fine!” she said, her back turned as she walked away. “I’ll go,” she added as she turned around to look at him from the doorway. “But only to make sure you don’t make a complete fool of yourself – or embarrass Thea!” 

She swiveled on her heel, making her ponytail dance as she walked to her desk.

“Great!” he called after her retreating back, not quite able to hold back an excited grin.   
“I’ll pick you up at seven.” 

 

***

The Italian restaurant that Oliver had taken her to was small and intimate. About a dozen tables were scattered around the dimly lit room in no particular order it seemed, creating a relaxed and unassuming atmosphere. The decor was traditional Italian country style, and the food was classic Tuscan cuisine, with simple, seasonal dishes.

Oliver was clearly a regular guest here. As soon as they stepped in the door the owner, Lorenzo, had come rushing over to greet Oliver with a hug and loud chatter about his family - casting the occasional speculative glance at her, she’d noticed. 

They had been given the window table – as per Oliver’s request – and had an unobstructed view of the entrance of the new restaurant across the street, where Thea and her date were having dinner.

The food had turned out to be just as fantastic as he had promised it would be, and Felicity found herself finishing off her pasta al tartufo in spite of the swarm of butterflies that had taken up permanent residence in her stomach lately. 

She raised her glass and took another sip of wine, with a contented sigh. 

Yeah, dating Oliver Queen wasn’t exactly a hardship, Felicity decided as she watched him refill her wine glass. Not even if the date was fake and the circumstances less than romantic. 

In fact, it would be all too easy to forget that this was work, she thought dreamily – work, or whatever it could be called when you were staking out your boss’ sister’s date. It certainly didn’t feel like work. I felt just like two people enjoying a meal and each other’s company. 

She took another sip of wine, eyeing him furtively from under her lashes. 

“Do I have something in my teeth?” he asked with a chuckle. “You’re staring at me again,” he said.

Felicity felt heat creep up her neck, and hurriedly changed the subject. 

“So what exactly do you plan on doing when we see them come out?” she asked, making an effort to pull her head out of the date-mode she kept sinking into. “It’s not like we can just run out and give chase all ‘cop movie’-style,” she added with a grin. 

“I don’t plan to,” he said, looking at her with eyes that were way too warm, she felt. Or maybe she was just feeling the effects of the wine? Yeah, better give the wine a rest, she decided with a small sigh of regret. She wouldn’t want to risk doing something she might regret later…

She returned his look, waiting for him to elaborate.

“When they come out, I’m going to make sure that no one is following them. Then we’re going to follow them at a safe distance to make sure that he takes her straight home.” He waited a beat. “And then I call her to check that everything is all right,” he added with a shrug. “Simple and most likely completely un-dramatic. Just a precaution.”

“Okay, so just for the sake of argument,” Felicity said, “what if they don’t go back to her place? What if they decide to go clubbing?”

“Then we...” Oliver began.

“And don’t say ‘then we go clubbing’!” Felicity interrupted in mock horror. 

“Then we go clubbing,” Oliver laughed and winked at her. “How are your dance moves, Felicity Smoak?” he said teasingly, giving her another one of those smiles that made her toes curl. “Can you hold your own on the dance floor?”

“You’ve seen me dance,” she replied loftily, deliberately looking out the window, hoping her cheeks weren’t as flaming red as they felt. 

“Nope, doesn’t count,” he said dismissively. “It was formal dancing and I was leading – you didn’t have to do anything. Club dancing is something else entirely.”

Felicity’s glared at him and was just about to explain to him how wrong he was, when she noticed the laughter in his eyes, and realized she was being goaded by an expert. 

“Well then,” she said sweetly, “I suppose I shall just have to follow your lead again.”

Oliver looked momentarily taken aback, then he laughed.

“Yeah, see I don’t do club dancing, so I guess we better hope they head for home,” he winked at her again, and Felicity had to concentrate hard on her dessert to keep from saying what was really on her mind. To keep from telling him, that the minute he had started talking about dancing and moving, all she had seen on the movie screen of her inner eye was a shirtless Oliver Queen doing a series of fluid movements in a darkened room.

“Are you going to eat that?” Oliver said, snapping her out of her reverie. “Or are you going to beat it into submission with a spoon?” he asked, pointing to her plate where she was systematically destroying her tiramisu without even noticing. 

“Oh! Sorry,” she mumbled, “My mind was somewhere…I guess I’m not so hungry anymore,” she added with an apologetic smile, pushing the plate away. 

He looked at her knowingly for a second and she quickly took another sip of wine to have an excuse for not talking. 

It was getting late she noticed, and any minute now Thea and her date could reappear on the opposite sidewalk. She was almost sorry to have the evening end, she realized. She was having a surprisingly good time, enjoying the time alone with Oliver, in spite of the awkward moments. 

Their conversation had been completely non-work related most of the evening, and Felicity was finally starting to feel like she was getting to know the real Oliver Queen – with a few noticeable exceptions of course. Such as what exactly did he and Dig have going on? Why did he have those muscle men working for him? What had he done for Barry Allen? And why on earth did he run around prepared to take blood samples at the drop of a hat? 

But other than that, she was definitely getting to know him, she figured.

Suddenly she sensed Oliver tense up. Following his gaze, she saw the door to the restaurant across the street opening, and Thea come out with a happy smile on her face. She watched as Thea turned around and faced her date, and they stood chatting on the sidewalk for a bit. 

Oliver signaled the owner good bye. She wondered briefly when he had managed to settle their bill, but dismissed the thought as he got up and shrugged into his own coat. Then he held out her coat for her to slip it on. His hands brushed down her arms before he let go and Felicity felt her heart skip a beat at the unexpected contact. 

“Ready?” he murmured behind her and she nodded in reply.

They waited a moment just inside the door while Oliver made sure that Thea and her date were already heading away, and not looking their way. 

Then he walked out the door, tucking her hand into the crook of his arm, like he had the other night at the gala. To the rest of the world they must surely look like a loving couple heading home after a nice dinner, she thought, hurrying to keep up with his long stride.

Thea and her date were about a hundred paces ahead of them on the opposite side of the road, and Felicity was beginning to wonder just what Oliver had in mind if the other couple got into a taxi. They would be left behind on foot with no chance of catching up, she thought. 

Just then the couple ahead turned the corner to a side street.

Oliver immediately crossed to the other side of the road pulling her along, as they hurried towards the corner where Thea and her date had just disappeared.

They were about twenty paces from the side street, when Thea suddenly walked back around the corner, alone, heading straight for them. She had her head down, looking at her phone with a frown, and she was walking directly towards them. 

Felicity froze on the spot, desperately searching for a reasonable explanation for them being there. 

But before she could react, she felt Oliver grab her shoulders, spin her around and push her up against the nearest wall.   
She yelped in surprise, but the sound was lost - when he kissed her! 

For a brief moment the world stood still.

Felicity had a weird sense of both shock and recognition. ‘How odd,’ she thought hazily, as   
she felt her carefully built defenses crumble and turn to dust. 

Oliver’s lips were warm and demanding, and she felt herself respond instantly. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew there was a reason why this was a bad idea, but she couldn’t remember why and she just didn’t care any more. 

And then she stopped thinking altogether. 

She lost herself in the slide of his tongue and the soft, yet firm, pressure of his lips. He tasted like wine and chocolate and something delicious she couldn’t name.   
Her arms came up to circle his neck, one hand playing with the short hair at the nape of his neck, the other restlessly exploring the hard muscle in his shoulders.   
Then he changed the angle and deepened the kiss, and Felicity sighed softly into his mouth. She felt his hand come up to cup the back of her head, tangling in her hair. His other hand slid down to the small of her back, pulling her closer against him. 

Felicity had no idea how long they stood there, pressed up against the cold brick wall, completely lost to the world. She was only vaguely aware that Oliver once mumbled something, but then he kissed her again, and she lost all interest in words. 

When she slowly came back to reality, she found herself staring up into Oliver’s darkened eyes, her hands fisted in the lapels of his coat. They were both breathing hard. Oliver briefly rested his forehead against hers, before pulling her close in a tight hug. She felt his breath against the top of her head, and closed her eyes, resting her forehead against his shoulder. 

His hand wandered up and down her spine, in a soothing motion, as they slowly got their breathing under control again. 

Suddenly Oliver stiffened, and started swearing softly. 

Felicity pulled back to look into his face with a frown.

“Thea!” he said, by way of explanation. 

Felicity’s head whipped around, her eyes searching the street in both directions for signs of Oliver’s sister. 

But Thea was nowhere to be seen.


	10. A Storm Gathering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are coming to a head - Oliver and Felicity have things to sort out - and in the middle of it all Felicity's past suddenly catches up with her, throwing everything off course. ,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> slightly delayed up-date...now we're getting to the good part. I'm really excited for the next couple of chapters and I hope you're still with me :-)

“All right then, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Oliver said and ended the call, slipping the phone into the holder on the consol. 

He leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and let out a breath of air that was equal parts relief and frustration. He rested his hands on the wheel for a moment, not quite ready to turn the key in the ignition yet. 

His entire body was still humming with shock. Adrenalin pumped in measured waves through him, making it hard to let go of the initial fight-reflex that Thea’s disappearance had ignited. 

The tiny voice in the back of his mind drily informed him that losing sight of Thea – as disturbing as that was – probably wasn’t the real cause of his current agitation. Neither was the frantic search up and down the street and all the nearby buildings that had followed. 

Losing sight of his sister had been stupid and reckless and he was angry with himself for getting sidetracked. But it wasn’t the reason for the way he was feeling right now – shaken to his core. 

He had lost control. And he never lost control! Oliver groaned inwardly and tried to shake it off. 

Beside him Felicity was turned in her seat to face him, one leg curled up underneath her as she kept her eyes riveted on his face, looking for clues in his every expression. She sat very still, her posture seemingly relaxed. But he wasn’t fooled. She was like a tightly wound spring, he thought, tension radiating off her, as she got closer and closer to snapping. 

“Well?” she asked impatiently, as soon as he opened his eyes again. “What did she say?” 

“She’s fine,” he shrugged. “But I guess she knows me well enough to realize I would have been deploying my ‘army of muscle men’ as she put it, to come knocking down her door if I didn’t hear from her,” he said, shaking his head with a wry grin. “She just called to make sure I wasn’t going to come barging in at an inopportune moment.” 

“So Thea’s all right?” Felicity asked, visibly relieved. “But what happened? Where did she go? How come she came back alone?” She fired questions at him without pausing to wait for his answer. 

He looked at her pointedly and she immediately – and uncharacteristically - shut up, color rushing into her cheeks. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “Go on…?”

“Well, she’s back at her apartment now,” he said, frowning once more. “With her date,” he added, his jaw clenching involuntarily. “Apparently they are having a nightcap…” he trailed off a little gruffly, not entirely comfortable discussing his baby sister’s love life.

“As for why she came back…” he grumbled, “well, she didn’t mention it and I couldn’t very well ask her,” he said, once again irritated with himself for losing control of the situation so spectacularly. 

He could practically feel the hundreds of questions lining up in her head, and was surprised when she didn’t say anything. 

He cast a glance at her and was momentarily sidetracked by the pensive expression on her face. The cute little wrinkle between her eyebrows begged him to reach over and smooth it out, as if that would make her worries go away. 

She was biting her bottom lip, and the sight of it was like a jolt of electricity straight to his groin, making him want to pick up right where they left off when Thea’s disappearance had ruined the moment… 

Yeah, the moment…his thoughts wandered back to the kiss again. He had meant it to be a strictly diversionary tactic – he had counted on the fact that most people wouldn’t stare directly at a couple making out in public – but he hadn’t counted on Felicity’s reaction. Or his own for that matter. 

That had been…unexpected, to say the least. Just thinking about it now seemed to scramble his thoughts all over again. 

He had only intended for it to be a pretend kiss but the moment his lips had touched hers, he’d lost his focus. And he was in danger of losing it again now, he realized, as his body relished in the memories of it. Memories of how perfectly she had fit into his arms, her lips soft and warm, the slide of her tongue like a drug he had become instantly addicted to. How she had moaned softly in his mouth, somehow making a simple kiss the most intensely erotic experience he’d ever had… 

“Did she say anything about…” Felicity’s hesitant voice interrupted his train of thought. “What I mean is, did she mention…” she blinked a couple of times. “Do you think she saw us?” she finally blurted out. Her eyes went imperceptibly darker, as he studied her face in the semi-darkness of the car.

Oliver shifted uncomfortably in his seat, briefly wondering if she had somehow read his mind.  
“I don’t think so,” he said slowly, hoping that his voice didn’t come out as rough as it sounded to him. 

“But I think we should talk about that,” he continued, deciding that now was as good a time as any. 

“Talk about what?” she said a little too quickly, looking down at her hands that were busy twisting the seat belt around. 

“Felicity…” he said, for a moment amused that she was actually trying to avoid this conversation. 

Then it hit him that maybe she didn’t want to talk about it, because she was embarrassed. Something cold seemed to settle in his stomach as he thought about it. 

What if she hadn’t been swept away by that kiss the way he had? What if she simply thought it was really, really awkward to talk to her boss, who had just – very inappropriately – kissed her? He was suddenly feeling a little queasy.

“Felicity, you know what I want to talk about,” he said softly, trying to catch her eyes but she kept dodging him. He reached out and cupped her chin, forcing her to face him, but she still wouldn’t look at him.

“Felicity,” he said, “look at me.” 

Reluctantly she raised her eyes to his. He searched her face for a sign of what was going on with her. Something teased at his mind, and he frowned in confusion. There was something he was missing here. He had been so sure that she was right there with him, that she had been into that kiss as much as he was, so why this sudden withdrawal?

“We kissed and I think we should talk about that,” he said, trying hard not to feel hurt by the panic in her eyes. 

“No need,” she said abruptly, pulling her chin from his grip to stare straight ahead. “I know it was a diversion, it worked, end of story. No need to apologize or anything. It was just part of the cover-up, I get it. I’m not reading anything into it – don’t worry about it,” she rambled on, hardly pausing for air. 

“Oh, and another thing,” she continued, words practically bursting out of her now that she had begun talking again. “If you want to continue keeping an eye on Thea, I think we should try my way from now on – your way is a little too unreliable, I think. Too many…uncontrollable elements,” she finished after a brief hiccup. 

Oliver stared at her blankly for a minute, trying to decide how to respond to her obvious attempt to change the subject. 

“Anyway, if Thea is fine for tonight,” Felicity interrupted his speculations, “I think I’d like to go home now.” She glanced at him briefly before turning her head to look out at the now deserted street. 

“Right,” he said, his mind reeling. “You’re right, it’s late. I’ll take you home, and we can finish this conversation tomorrow.” He gave her a penetrating look, hoping to convey that this discussion was by no means over.

She gave no sign that she had heard him, but she couldn’t quite hide the heightened color in her cheeks. 

“Oh, and I’d like you to come to Thea’s apartment with me tomorrow morning,” he added. “She has agreed to talk options with me, so she won’t have to keep dodging my men,” he couldn’t quite help a smirk at that last bit. 

Felicity just nodded, but continued to stare out the window. 

With a frustrated sigh Oliver gave up on conversation, pulled out in traffic and headed towards her apartment. 

 

***

Murky morning light was falling through the floor-to-ceiling windows in Thea’s apartment as Felicity pushed the door shut with her hip, balancing a cardboard box of pastries in one hand and her handbag and phone in the other. 

“I’ll stop by as soon as I’m done here,” she said in the phone, mouthing an absentminded ‘thank you’ at Oliver, who hurried over to grab the food from her. “Okay, see you then,” she said and disconnected. 

“Who was that?” Oliver asked, putting the pastries down on the coffee table. 

“Barry,” she said, without looking at him. She put her bag down on the couch, draped her coat over the back of it, and started rummaging through the bag to find the things she needed. 

“He has some new results on the drugs he has been testing, and he wanted me to come over for the latest show-and-tell. I’ll stop by his lab on my way to the office as soon as we’re done here.” She looked up and flashed him a quick smile.

Oliver looked less than pleased she noticed. But whether that had to do with Barry’s results or with what happened last night she had no idea, and she really didn’t care to find out, she decided. 

She just needed to get on with her day, get to work and try to forget that THAT ever happened. 

‘Ha!’ the voice in the back of her mind mocked her. ‘As if that’s an option.’ She grimaced and tried to drown out the thoughts that had kept her up half the night, and the memories that had given her very unwelcome, very hot dreams the other half. 

It was just so inconvenient, she thought, mentally stamping her foot.  
Here she was, trying to sort out the mess of a lifetime, and getting lost in dreams about a hot, hard-bodied man, whose kisses could make her forget her own name and even how to breath in and out…well, that simply wasn’t on the agenda for right now. 

And besides, she still wasn’t at all sure that she hadn’t made an absolute fool out of herself by responding to his kiss the way she had. She had completely forgotten that they were on an undercover date, that she was his pretend-date for the evening, and that kissing her had only been a distraction. All of that had been blanked out the minute he kissed her. 

Felicity blushed deeply at the memory. 

He must think her a total idiot! Or worse, maybe he felt sorry for her? What if he thought she had misunderstood the situation? What if he was afraid that she was falling for him? God, how embarrassing! 

He had wanted to talk about it last night in the car, she recalled. Probably to let her down easy. She shuddered at the thought. Nope! No way. She wasn’t going to have that talk. It was done, she had kissed him, and there was no taking it back now, but she could at least pretend that she had been aware of the reality of the situation the whole time. 

And that meant getting on with business as if nothing had happened. 

Straightening up, Felicity plastered a bright smile on her face, hoping it didn’t look as pained as it felt. 

“So, where is Thea?” she asked. “I need her phone for this, you know,” she added in a less audible voice.

“Making coffee,” he said before stepping closer to avoid Thea overhearing them. “What exactly is it you’re going to do?” he mumbled, leaning in just a little too close for comfort, she felt.

“Well, assuming you’re determined to keep up surveillance on your sister,” she said, raising a questioning eyebrow, “I thought I could help you out with a bit of tech.” He nodded his approval and she continued.

“It’s quite simple really,” she explained, trying not to get flustered by his proximity. “The tech I’ve whipped up can be slipped on to her phone in a second, and it’ll effectively work as a beacon – at all times signaling her position – like a GPS, except it works even when the phone is turned off. Actually it could be installed in any number of items, but I just figure the phone is the one thing she’s likely to have with her at all times,” she shrugged and gave him a tight smile. 

“That thing is permanently attached to her hand,” he mumbled with gruff affection. “So yes, that should work.” He gave her a speculative look. 

“What?” she said, frowning at him.

“I was just wondering,” he said slowly, “if maybe that tech of yours could be expanded a little bit?” 

“What do you have in mind?” she asked.

“Well, I was thinking that if you could maybe work up something that could also give me the option of listening in on her calls, I could do a more thorough surveillance and it would eliminate some of the guesswork.” He looked at he expectantly. 

“Oliver!” she gasped. “You can’t be serious!” she folded her arms over her chest in a pose that screamed of her disapproval. 

“I mean, obviously I can do it,” she clarified, “but honestly, Oliver, you really want to spy on your sister’s personal calls? You know, it’s one thing to keep track of her whereabouts – that’s only mildly creepy given the circumstances,” she commented. “But to monitor her calls? That’s the highway to Stalkerville! That is a pretty serious violation of her personal life.” Felicity eyed him with her best impression of a scolding schoolteacher.

But he had that familiar stubborn look on his face that told her that was exactly what he wanted to do. 

“Look,” she said, rubbing her forehead in concentration. “How about I simply keep track of in- and out-going calls? I can keep a running tab on what numbers she calls and where incoming calls come from. It’s also invasive – obviously! - but at least you won’t be listening in on her private chats,” she offered as a compromise. 

He contemplated that for a bit. 

Felicity let her gaze roam over his face while he was lost in thought. He looked a little tired, she noticed with a flurry of concern. Like he hadn’t slept too well last night either, she thought, wanting to reach out and smooth away the worried frown-lines.

“Okay,” he said decisively, snapping her out of her reverie. “Do that for now, and let’s hope we figure this out fast!” 

“Yeah, and that your sister never finds out what you’re doing,” she mumbled in an aside to herself.

“What was that?” he asked leaning in closer to catch her words. 

“What are you two lovebirds whispering about over there?” Thea’s voice interrupted, as she came in from the kitchen, carrying a tray of coffee mugs. 

“Nothing, not whispering – or being lovebirds…or anything really,” Felicity stammered, practically jumping away from Oliver, feeling a furious blush coming on.

“Just work…talk. You know? Talking about work. A case actually… that we’re working on…” she trailed off, busying herself with her tablet, as Thea chuckled and placed a coffee mug in front of her. 

“Well, don’t mind me,” Thea said with a sly wink as she flopped down on the couch. “Yum, you brought food!” she squealed as she noticed the box of pastries. She immediately tore off the lid to display the treats, and proceeded to select the one with the most toxic looking icing and sprinkles.

With a sigh of intense pleasure she bit into the pastry, and waved a napkin towards Oliver and Felicity. “You two just go on with your ‘work-talk’ – I’ll be fine right here.”

Oliver frowned, eyeing his sister with disapproval for a moment. A second later Felicity practically jumped out of her skin, when he placed a hand at the small of her back, leading her to the couch. 

“I think we should get on with this,” he said, apparently not noticing her startled intake of breath or the fact that her heart seemed to be hammering loud enough for the neighbors to hear, she thought. 

Oliver took a seat next to Felicity on the couch opposite his sister. “I do have a meeting to get to, and I want to find a solution we both are comfortable with,” he said eyeing his sister meaningfully.

“Well that’s easy,” Thea said. “You just go about your business and let me deal with mine.” She smiled sweetly, but then she sobered up and looked at them both seriously. 

“Look,” she said, “I know you worry, and I’d be an idiot not to be concerned that someone drugged me. But I don’t need you or one of your old army-buddies to be hanging over my shoulder all the time. If it’ll make you feel better I’ll hire a body guard – but I won’t put up with constant surveillance.” Thea took a sip of her coffee, and leaned back, having offered her solution. 

Oliver narrowed his eyes at her, and pretended to be considering her offer.

“Why can’t you just use one of my contacts as a bodyguard?” he asked.

“Because they report back to you,” Thea said, rolling her eyes. “And I really don’t need my big brother to get a daily report on my every move.” 

Felicity bit her lip at Thea’s rejection of the very thing that she was about to force on her. 

“All right,” Oliver said finally. He leaned forward to take his sister’s hand, but accidentally knocked over her coffee mug in the process. 

He swore loudly as hot liquid sloshed over his hand. 

“Oh, my God! Are you okay?” Thea yelled and jumped up to help.

“I’m fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “Just go and get a rag or something to wipe up this mess,” he added indicating the coffee that was quickly spreading over the table and starting to drip into the rug. 

Thea ran to the kitchen, and Oliver immediately turned to Felicity, casting a meaningful glance at the phone that Thea had left behind on the table. 

With a sinking heart Felicity grabbed the phone, to do as Oliver had asked. She was just finishing up when Thea returned with paper towels and a dishrag, and started wiping up the spill. 

“Sorry Thea,” Oliver said, with a sideways glance at Felicity. “I hope it doesn’t leave a stain.”  
He flashed a grin at Felicity as he wiped his hands in a paper towel, looking entirely too pleased with himself she decided.

 

***

The forecast had said storm, and a storm was definitely approaching fast now Oliver realized, eyeing the dark clouds scurrying overhead. The murky light from that morning had turned into an even darker afternoon, and the wind was picking up now too. 

He hoped Felicity had made it back to the office by now – he wouldn’t want her to be caught out in this weather.

He had just finished up his meeting with the clients at RoboMed and was on his way back to the office himself. The meeting hadn’t gone as he had hoped. The client had not been able to identify the men in the pictures from the gala, so it seemed he wasn’t getting a shortcut. They still had something to go on though, but it wasn’t going to be as simple as he had hoped. 

Just as he reached his car, his phone vibrated. It was Dig calling from Boston. 

“Dig,” Oliver greeted him. “Please tell me you have news,” he said, feeling the need for a break in the midst of all the chaos that seemed to be collecting around them.

He listened attentively while his friend filled him in on the discoveries he’d made on the east coast, only interrupting to ask a few questions. It seemed things were finally starting to come together in terms of unraveling miss Smoak’s past, he thought. At least he now had a lead – something to dig into. 

But Dig also warned him that there were roadblocks he hadn’t been able to get around, and that he was fairly certain that someone was now following him. Both good reasons for concern, but also signs that he was getting closer to uncovering whatever the big secret was, Oliver thought. He frowned in concentration as Dig finished his report. 

“All right Dig,” he finally said. “I think you should come back, and we’ll do the rest from here. I think this is enough for me to confront Felicity. Hopefully she’ll spill the rest. Oh, and Dig,” he added. “Be careful, okay?” 

He disconnected and drove through the darkening city towards the office. He was feeling oddly anxious to get back to Felicity. They really did need to clear the air about what had happened last night, he thought, as he sped through the city. 

Oliver parked the car in the alley behind the building and walked around the building to the front entrance. As he turned the corner to the main street and headed to the front door of the building, he spotted Felicity walking towards him from the opposite direction. 

She hadn’t seen him yet, he could tell. She was distracted by the forceful gusts of wind that were trying to unwrap her coat, and make off with her bag, while she was desperately clinging to the tray of coffees she was carrying. 

Oliver couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her. Nothing came between his IT-girl and her coffee it seemed. He laughed fondly, admiring her determination…and the way her legs looked in those skinny jeans and high-heeled boots, the red coat flapping around her slender frame. 

Just as he was about to call out to her he heard screeching tires and looked up. He immediately spotted the source. A black SUV came screaming around the corner of the side street that Felicity had just passed, heading towards him. His reflexes instantly kicked into high alert, but the car wasn’t headed for him. 

It pulled up alongside Felicity and veered to the curb, brakes complaining loudly as the driver screeched to a halt. The car hadn’t even come to a full stop when the doors facing the sidewalk popped open and two black-clad men in ski masks jumped out, one of them wielding an automatic weapon. 

One guy headed directly for Felicity, but he could tell she hadn’t spotted the danger yet, focused as she was on hanging on to her belongings. The guy with the automatic weapon, the one closest to Oliver, seemed to be standing guard, ready to shoot anyone who got in their way. 

For a split-second Oliver felt like he was seeing it all in slow-motion, then he his training kicked in and he was running flat-out.

Oliver ran full tilt into the man with the gun, his hand raised and ready to strike. He hit him forcefully directly on the trachea, before letting his own momentum carry him into a full-body collision, torpedoing the man to the ground. The gunman didn’t even have time to let out a shout, before Oliver’s stroke to his neck effectively cut off his air supply and left him gasping for air on the ground. 

Oliver rolled to his feet in a fluid motion, and continued on towards Felicity, only vaguely aware of the screams of bystanders, and people starting to panic.

The first man had almost reached her, and was about to make a grab for her, when she spotted him. Oliver was only half aware of shouting out a warning, before he watched her fling the tray of coffees in the attacker’s face. Then she spun around and sprinted towards the entrance to their building. 

For a second he thought she was actually going to make it, the attacker distracted and howling in pain as he wiped scalding hot coffee off his face. But the man quickly recovered and reached her in two long steps, just as she was about to open the door. He yanked her off balance with a powerful tug to her flapping coat, making her stumble backwards. He grabbed her around the neck, and started pulling her towards the car. 

Oliver saw it all as if through a mist of red, hearing only the roar of blood in his ears, feeling the adrenalin of pure fury pumping through him, propelling him forwards. His only focus was Felicity, her red coat like a beacon calling to him. 

He didn’t stop to think, he just jumped, and collided directly with the man, dragging Felicity towards the waiting car. His momentum carried all three of them to the ground, in a tumbled mass of limbs. Then he was on top of the guy, crushing his neck with his forearm. 

The guy was struggling for air, and quickly growing limp under the steady pressure of Oliver’s arm, when Felicity’s panicked voice finally broke through the blinding rage. 

“Oliver!” she shouted, and he felt her tugging his sleeve. 

He looked up, still feeling oddly outside his own body, and took in the scene. The first attacker was being helped into the car by the driver, and the guy who had grabbed Felicity was quickly fading under the pressure of his arm. 

Oliver lifted off the man and quickly rolled to his feet, pulling Felicity up with him. He didn’t speak, he just pulled her along until the two of them were safely inside, him shielding her with his body the whole time. He watched from the window as the second guy made it into the SUV and it took off at full speed. 

Only then did the roaring in his ears subside, and he felt like he could breathe again. 

“Felicity!” he spun around and grabbed her by the shoulder, hungrily taking in her face, as he slowly got his breathing back under control.

“What the hell just happened?” he mumbled to himself absentmindedly. Then he focused on her “Are you okay?” he asked.

She stared at him, wide-eyed and still scared. 

He swore under his breath and pulled her into his arms, not really sure if he was trying to soothe her or himself with the tight embrace. 

“I need to get out of here,” he thought he heard her mumble against his chest. “I have to go, I need to get out now…” 

“Felicity,” he repeated. “What are you talking about? What is going on?” he frowned down at her, searching her face for an explanation. 

“Oliver, I’m so sorry,” she said, still clinging to him, as if to a life-raft. “I never meant to drag you into all of this,” she continued. “I never thought it would come to this.” She squeezed her eyes shut for a second and shook her head. 

“I need to go now,” she took a deep breath and started pulling out of his embrace. 

“Oh, no you don’t,” he said, tightening his hold. “You’re not going anywhere until you tell me what kind of trouble you’re in and who those men were.” 

He could feel her heart still beating wildly under the thin silk of her shirt, where her body was pressed up against his. 

“If you need to go,” he said, “I’m going with you. And I know just the place.”


	11. The Eye of The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to unravel fast now - Oliver is focused on getting Felicity to safety, but she's still having doubts about letting him help. She doesn't have much of a choice though and once things get going - maybe she doesn't want him to stop?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all - thanks to all of you who made comments so far - it's so much fun to see what others take away from this, so THANK YOU!
> 
> Now - I had some time and got the next chapter done a little sooner than expected. I had fun with this one and have some good stuff planned for the next couple of chapters too - hope you enjoy ;-)

The weather had finally broken and the storm was coming in fast. Dark, brooding clouds were building on the horizon, and the first drops of rain hit the roof of the car as they passed the city limit. The wind picked up another notch and before long they were driving along the dark country road in howling winds. Sheets of rain made it almost impossible to see the road. 

Oliver had been silent and focused as they made their way through the outskirts of the city. Now the city was behind them, and he seemed to relax a little as they drove farther from the lights and into the dark countryside.

“So where exactly are we going?” she asked tentatively, not wanting to break his concentration. 

He sighed and rolled his shoulders as if he had been tensed up without even realizing it. 

“It’s a small cabin up in the mountains,” he said. “Nobody knows about it – not even Thea. It used to be my father’s hide-away. His private place that he would go to once in a while for some quiet time away from the media and all the attention.” Oliver cast a sidelong glance at her before continuing. 

“You’ll be safe there – I promise,” he said. “This place – there’s no record of it anywhere. I’m the only one who even knows it exists.”

She looked at him skeptically, and he gave her a quick, reassuring smile. 

“When my parents got married my dad already had the place, and by pre-marital agreement the land continued to be his sole property. When I turned 18 he signed it over to me. That’s why it wasn’t mentioned in the joint will and wasn’t part of the whole estate-circus when they died,” he explained. 

She looked at him silently, willing him to continue the story she clearly sensed behind this secret place.

“Growing up, I remember my father taking off once a month for a few days,” Oliver carried on as if he had read her mind. “He would always come back a lighter, happier version of himself. When I turned twelve he decided I was old enough to join him. From then on he would bring me with him for his version of father-son bonding trips.” Oliver’s voice had taken on a melancholy timbre and he had a faraway look in his eyes. 

“I used to love those trips,” he said. “Just me and my dad out in the woods.” He sighed and flashed her another quick smile.

“Anyway, since I’ve been back here I’ve been using it once in a while. I’ve come to appreciate the privacy it affords me. And the fact that no paparazzi has found it yet makes me believe no one else knows about it either,” he joked, poking her in the side with an elbow.

She gave him a grateful smile but then she frowned. 

“I don’t understand,” she said. “I mean, I get that it’s your private property and it wasn’t part of your parents’ will, but…wouldn’t there still be records of the building, taxes, permits that sort of thing?”

“Ordinarily yes,” he said with a grin, a hint of mischief playing in his eyes.   
“But according to public records there is no house on the land. My dad officially owned part of a mountain – forest and rock and all – and he signed that land over to me. But there is no record of a building on the land.” He winked at her and laughed.

“I’m sure my dad must have broken some law or other by having the cabin built without any kind of permit, but he was like that sometime. He didn’t ask permission and never told anyone of its existence. As far as the world is concerned, I just own a mountain,” he finished, looking very pleased with himself. 

“The downside of course,” he added after a beat, “is that the place is pretty primitive. It’s not the Four Seasons, I can tell you that much!” He chuckled. “But we’ll be safe while we plan our next move.”

She nodded in agreement, not willing to go further into the planning part just yet. Especially since planning entailed sharing her story with him. She shivered involuntarily and returned to staring out the rain-blurred window. She would have to reveal the whole sorry mess to him, she realized, once again second-guessing her decision to let him help. 

The events of the past few hours suddenly felt overwhelming and all she wanted to do was curl up and hide. 

Once Oliver had made it clear that he wasn’t about to let her go alone, he had taken charge, starting with cleaning and bandaging a cut on her elbow. She must have gotten it when she fell to the ground, she figured, but she had been too shaken up to notice. 

She had wanted to go home and pack a bag, but Oliver had vetoed that idea, reasoning that if those men had been able to find her at work, surely they knew where she lived. It wouldn’t be safe to go home. 

Instead they had stopped by the ‘gym’ where Felicity had seen him and Dig work, what seemed like a lifetime ago now. Oliver had all kinds of equipment stored in the warehouse, and within minutes he had packed two backpacks and changed into practical clothing and sturdy boots. 

He had surveyed her skinny-jeans, high-heeled ankle boots and short-sleeved silk top with a frown. Her red woolen coat had been discarded straight away in exchange for a black, hooded, rainproof windbreaker that was about ten sizes too big she had discovered as she shrugged it on.

After some rummaging he had handed her a long-sleeved t-shirt – also black - to pull on over her silk top. It was big enough to pass for a dress on her, but it smelled like detergent…and like him. Felicity had eagerly pulled it on, relishing the comfort and intimacy of having Oliver’s scent wrapped around her. 

He had cast one look at her size five boots, and given up on finding a replacement for her footwear in his selection of combat-boots and trainers. She would just have to manage he had grumbled. 

Through it all he had refrained from asking any questions. He had acted with simple efficiency, getting them both equipped and on the road.

With a grateful sigh, Felicity leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes. 

All she was aware of was the gentle hum of the engine, barely audible over the sound of the rain hammering on the windows and the roof of the car, and Oliver’s comforting presence beside her. She soon drifted off to sleep.

Felicity had no idea how long she had been sleeping, but she woke with a start as Oliver turned off the engine. The only sounds were the wind ravaging the trees, and the rain coming down in force. It was dark in the car now that the dashboard lights no longer lit up the interior. 

“Are we here?” she mumbled feeling a little dazed from sleeping.

“Not quite,” he said fumbling with something in the dark. “We can’t reach the cabin by car. We have to go the rest of the way on foot.” 

“It’s only a twenty minute hike,” he added quickly, as if expecting her to protest. “We’ll just bring the most necessary provisions for tonight. We can come back and get the rest in the morning,” he said. “Our things will be safe enough in the car. No one ever comes out here.”

“Okay, sure,” she said, not really sure what she was agreeing to, but trusting him implicitly to take care of her.

Oliver opened the door and icy winds immediately stole all the heat out of the car. Shivering, Felicity unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car. 

Oliver already had the boot open and was re-packing their backpacks with the most basic items for the night. 

Felicity pulled up the hood of her jacket against the wind and rain, and tightened it firmly. Her jeans were already starting to soak through and the rainwater felt icy on her skin. 

“Ready?” Oliver asked, handing her the smaller of the two backpacks. She nodded and let him help her strap it on, making sure the support-straps were tightened correctly. 

“Is this okay?” he asked, tugging lightly at the front of the pack, making her stumble forwards against his chest. 

“Oops, sorry,” she said, glad that the darkness would hide her suddenly flaming cheeks. “Yes, I’m good,” she added when he still looked at her expectantly.

“Okay then,” he said. “Just follow my lead. We’ll be there in no time.”

They set off into the dark forest. He had said the hike was about twenty minutes, but the rain had made the ground slippery, and the dark made it difficult to navigate the bumps, rocks and tree-roots poking out of the uneven ground here and there. Her impractical boots didn’t make things any easier, she soon discovered. 

The trail they were on twisted through the woods, always going up-hill. But the going was slow, and Felicity soon lost track of time. 

Within minutes of starting the hike they were both soaked to the skin. Her rainproof jacket was no match for the pelting rain she discovered, as the first trickle of icy water ran down her back. Soon she was numb all over from the cold and deaf from the howling of the wind. She was only aware of Oliver walking to the side and slightly in front of her to ward off the worst of the wind. She focused on his shadow and concentrated on moving her feet, one foot in front of the other, over and over again. 

After a while she started having trouble keeping up. She wasn’t used to hiking with a backpack, and light as the pack was, this was not an easy walk. Oliver must have sensed her fatigue because suddenly he reached back a hand and grabbed hers. 

His hand was surprisingly warm in spite of the wind and the rain, and the heat from his skin was like a flame to her ice-cold hand. 

“God, you’re freezing,” he mumbled, as he stopped and turned to face her with a worried frown. 

“I’m f-fine,” she stuttered through numb lips. “Let’s just get there,” she added, afraid she wouldn’t be able to continue if she stopped for too long. 

“We’ don’t really have a choice,” he agreed, but still sounding very worried. “We’re almost there, Felicity,” he said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

They continued up the trail for another five maybe ten minutes. Felicity had lost all sense of time, and was only aware of Oliver’s warm hand guiding her. Every once in a while he would give her hand a gentle squeeze as if to encourage her or reassure her. She gratefully squeezed back, long past any concern for propriety or pride. 

Suddenly she walked headlong into Oliver’s solid back, when he stopped walking. 

Before she could ask why they were stopping he turned around to face her, quickly laying a finger on her lips to keep her from talking.

“We’re here, Felicity,” he whispered, his lips pressed close to her ear. “I’ll just go and do a quick sweep of the place to make sure no one has been here. Stay right here and I’ll be back for you in a second,” he added. 

He turned to walk away, but somehow she just couldn’t let go of his hand.

His head whipped around to look at her, his eyes searching her face in the darkness. Whether he could actually see her fear and exhaustion or just sensed it, she didn’t know. But he quickly stepped back and pulled her into his arms in a tight hug.

“I’ll be back in no time, I promise, Felicity,” He whispered in her ear. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” Then he pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, let go of her hand and disappeared into the darkness. 

Felicity stood shivering in the dark, listening to the sounds of the woods being whipped by the fierce winds, feeling the rain like icy needles pricking her skin. She couldn’t distinguish any other sounds from the great darkness around her. She couldn’t see the cabin or Oliver. 

She wondered briefly how he was ever going to find his way back to her again. But she couldn’t really process the thought. 

She was exhausted and frightened by the events of the day, and she was dimly aware that her body was about to shut down completely. 

Just when she thought she was going to fall asleep on her feet, he was back. He popped out of the darkness right in front of her with a steadying hand to her arm, and a reassuring murmur in her ear. 

He turned and started leading her towards a small clearing that she now noticed just ahead. She clung to his hand, and almost cried in relief when she finally spotted the dark shadow of the cabin looming straight ahead, in the small clearing. 

She felt light-headed and her entire body was numb with cold, and suddenly the ground seemed to be rising up to meet her. She felt herself falling, but before she could hit the ground, Oliver’s arms were around her. He lifted her into his arms, then everything went black.

***

Felicity wasn’t sure how long she had been passed out, but it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. She came to when he slammed the door to the cabin behind him, making sure it was securely locked. 

Oliver deposited her in a wicker chair that stood in the corner just inside the door. He unstrapped both their backpacks and lit a couple of hurricane lanterns to light up the interior of the cabin. Then he turned around just in time to see her opening her eyes. 

“Felicity!” he dropped to his knees in front of the chair. “Can you hear me?” he said urgently, cupping her cold face in his hands.

“I’m fine,” she said, weakly wondering what was wrong with her voice. It sounded wooly and as if it came from a long way off. She tried to sit up in the chair. “I’m just a bit cold,” she added through lips that felt oddly stiff and not like her own. 

“I know, I’m so sorry, Honey,” she thought, she heard him say, wondering briefly at the endearment. “We need to get you out of those wet clothes and get you heated up,” he mumbled. 

His hands were suddenly busy feeling up her arms, her stomach under the jacket, moving over her in a way that made her feel like she probably ought to protest, but she just didn’t have the energy. 

“I’m checking your body temperature,” he explained as he unzipped her jacket and started pulling it off her. “Damn,” he mumbled. “Your lips are blue!” 

He kept up an impressive string of swearwords as he started unzipping her boots to pull them off. Little pools of muddy water trickled out of them as he sat them by the door. 

In no time he had her stripped of the wet clothes, right down to her underwear. She shivered as the cold air hit her skin and he quickly wrapped her in a woolen blanket that he had pulled off the back of a sofa. The blanket was ice cold too, but at least it took away the draft as he picked her up in his arms and carried her further into the freezing cabin. 

In a sort of dreamy haze Felicity noticed that he lifted her with ease, as if she weighed nothing. 

He deposited her on a big comfy couch, and sat down to face her, reaching out to take her hands again. His breath was actually visible in the cold air of the unused cabin, Felicity noticed in a strangely detached way. 

“Felicity?” he asked, his voice full of worry. 

“Mmm?” she said, sleepily. 

“I’ll get a fire going, and you’ll be warm in no time” he promised. 

‘Fire?’ her mind vaguely wondered. ‘But we’re in a house…’ Then she noticed the big fireplace that took up most of the end wall of the cabin. 

She heard the sound of matches being struck, and the smell of something burning reached her nose. 

The lights from flickering flames were soon dancing on the wall, and once the fire took hold, Oliver turned back to her. 

“Your skin is still so icy,” he mumbled, as he felt her hands again. “We need to get you warmed up, Felicity,” he said seriously. “You risk developing hypothermia if we don’t get your body temperature up.” He looked between the fireplace and her bundled up form on the couch, clearly frustrated with himself. 

“All right,” he said reaching a decision. “I’m going to make sure we get your circulation going, and then we let the fire take care of the rest, while I make us something hot to drink.”

She didn’t realize what he had in mind until he suddenly pulled her upright and – pushing the blanket aside - took hold of her arm. He started vigorously rubbing her hand, then her arm all the way up to the shoulder. He repeated the process on her other arm, then her feet and legs. 

For a fleeting moment she wondered if she should object to his hands on her naked body, but she quickly dismissed the idea. Heat was slowly starting to spread through her limbs and it felt heavenly. 

He turned her around and started rubbing her shoulders, her back, her hips, his hands moving in circular movements up and down her body, until her skin tingled and started glowing pink in the light from the fireplace. 

Felicity was aware in some corner of her mind, that she had completely given up all attempts at modesty at this point, giving into the amazing feeling as heat started to spread through her body again. 

Without thinking she leaned back against his chest, her muscles slowly relaxing as the warmth from the now roaring fire reached the couch. The heat from the flickering flames seemed to seep into her body, mingling with a different warmth that had little to do with friction or fire, and everything to do with Oliver’s touch. 

***

The firelight flickered over the rough, wooden walls of the small cabin, bathing everything in a golden glow. The single room was quickly heating up, making the howling winds outside a distant soundtrack, drowned out by the occasional pop and crackle from the firewood.

Oliver wasn’t entirely sure when it had happened, but at some point he had gone from briskly rubbing her cold body to get circulation going, to softly stroking…her shoulders, her hands, her neck…   
Soothing touches that probably didn’t do much for Felicity’s body temperature, but was making him acutely aware of his own. 

She was resting against his chest, her eyes closed, but he could tell by her breathing that she wasn’t asleep. He cleared his throat and shifted a little, without letting go of her. 

“You’re steamy,” she mumbled.

“Wha...aat?” he croaked, feeling a ridiculous spark of hope flare up. 

“Your clothes,” she clarified. “They’re steaming. Look” she indicated his legs that were stretched out in front of him towards the fire. 

His pants were in fact steaming, he saw, as water evaporated in the heat from the fire. Now that she mentioned it he was suddenly very aware of being not a little uncomfortable in his still wet clothes. He had been so focused on getting her warmed up that he hadn’t thought about getting dry clothes for himself. And now his clothes were steaming. 

He chuckled and shifted her to the side, to rest against the back of the couch. 

“I guess I got drenched too on the hike up,” he said, as he got up. “I should go and find us some dry clothes.” He looked down at her and smiled. “I’m afraid I don’t stock anything your size, but at least it will be dry,” he added as he headed to the back of the cabin where a small alcove held a comfy-looking bed and a chest of drawers.

“You just stay in front of the fire and warm up,” he said over his shoulder as he started rummaging through drawers for dry clothes. “I’ll go and get the generator going, and make us something hot to drink.” 

“Oh, I’m not moving,” she laughed. “You’ve basically got me naked here, so I’ll just hang on to this blanket and watch you do the work!” 

He cast a sideways glance at her, startled by her blunt statement, but pleased that she was recovered enough to make jokes. He quickly changed into dry jeans, a t-shirt and an old, well-worn fleece jacket that was going to give him some cover when he headed out to the generator. 

Then he sifted through the small supply of practical clothes he kept in the cabin and located a selection that Felicity could cover up in. They weren’t going to fit, but they would keep her warm he figured. 

“Here,” he said as he dumped the clothes on top of her blanket-covered legs. “Try these on. I’ll just head out back for a second and get the generator going. I’ll be back in a minute.”

As it turned out, it took a bit more than a minute to get the old temperamental generator to cooperate, but eventually he managed to get the old beast going. From the corner of his eye he spotted lights flickering on inside as the electricity came back on and he quickly closed up the shed and fled back inside.

Stepping back in the cabin was like being wrapped in a warm blanket, he thought, grateful that he had had the foresight to stock plenty of dry firewood inside last time he was here. He closed the front door behind him, making sure it was secure and bolted against the wind, before shrugging out of his jacket. 

Felicity had gotten dressed while he was out. She now wore one of his t-shirt that hit around mid-thigh on her, and looked more like a roomy dress. On top of that she wore his old grey zip-up hoodie, the sleeves rolled up several times, and the hem even longer than the t-shirt. She had apparently given up on his sweat pants, but had borrowed some woolen socks, that probably would be knee length on her had she pulled them up, he thought, laughing silently. 

She looked absolutely adorable in the oversized clothes, her hair a rumbled mess, tumbling in golden waves down her back. But he knew better than to say so. 

“How are you feeling?” he asked, heading for the small kitchenette to heat water for toddies.

“I feel fine now, thanks,” she said, her voice a little husky. “I’m not sure what happened out there,” she added, sounding a little embarrassed. “I mean, I’ve never fainted before in my life! I’m sorry to be so much trouble…” 

“Felicity,” he said turning to look at her. “Don’t apologize. This isn’t your fault. It could have happened to anybody…at least anybody who was just attacked, basically run out of town, and then dragged through a freezing rainstorm for close to an hour,” he added sardonically. 

“Now,” he said in a lighter tone. “Do you prefer rum or whiskey in your toddy?” he grinned, holding up two bottles of amber liquid. “I intend to make sure you are thoroughly warmed up before bedtime,” he said waggling his eyebrows at her. “So…what will it be?” 

It wasn’t till he saw the look on her face that he realized how he words could be understood. Her eyes locked with his, slowly growing darker, her lips parted slightly. Color rushed into her cheeks and she quickly looked away. 

“Erh…rum, please,” she said, her voice little more than a whisper.


	12. Cabin Fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having fled to the small cabin in the woods, the storm raging outside, people hunting them, Felicity and Oliver suddenly find themselves in a situation where there's nowhere to go and nothing to do - except maybe explore what they have been avoiding for weeks now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took a while to get down - still not sure it's quite how I wanted it, but here it is...

Felicity turned away quickly to face the fireplace. Her cheeks were flaming, and she stared unseeingly into the roaring fire, hearing nothing but the blood rushing in her ears. She hugged herself, and tried to concentrate on the heat from the burning logs, washing over her bare legs and seeping through her clothes. 

She felt like she was slowly going up in flames, but it wasn’t from the fire in front of her. 

She was burning up from the inside, mostly from the flare of desire she was so desperately trying to wrestle back in its box, but partly from embarrassment. There was little doubt in her mind that Oliver had read every thought and emotion on her face a minute ago when he had made that comment. 

The comment had been completely innocent, but for some reason her mind had immediately gone somewhere else – somewhere not so innocent – and she hadn’t had time to compose her face. She knew that he had seen it. She mentally kicked herself. Hard. 

‘Oh come on,’ that dry little voice in the back of her head butted in. ‘Don’t be so hard on yourself. After the day you’ve had?’ Felicity almost nodded in agreement. She had earned the right to go just a little crazy after today – it had been a very long day, and as if being attacked in the street in broad daylight, basically driven out of her home, then trekking half way up a mountain in hurricane-like winds and icy rain wasn’t enough, she had passed out for crying out like! Probably hit her head too when she fell earlier, come to think of it. There were plenty of good reasons for acting a little out of character, she decided. 

She hugged herself tighter as if to physically gain control of her emotional turmoil. 

The thing was though, the little voice piped up again. If she was going to be completely honest with herself, she knew that she hadn’t just suddenly gone ‘there’ – she hadn’t just in the flash of the moment, out of gratitude for his heroics or for his thorough care for her hypothermia-threatened body, gotten the hots for a friend – and boss. Something had been there for a while now, the tension and the feelings slowly building. 

It had been there possibly ever since that night at the party when she walked down the staircase and saw him standing there in his tuxedo. Or maybe it started during the intimacy of their talk after putting Thea to bed? It was certainly there when she saw him working out that day at his gym. And most definitely since that kiss… 

And the way he had taken care of her today had just brought it all to a head. It was a completely natural reaction to weeks of tension, pent up feelings on top of the stress of today, she told herself. She shouldn’t be reading things into it. It was just her own mess playing with her mind…

But she could still feel his hands sliding over her skin, the way he had seemed to shape her arms, her shoulders, her neck with his touch, lingering in a way that definitely wasn’t designed to create friction but was all about giving pleasure…

Felicity scrunched up her face, and groaned silently, trying to shake off the images conjured up by that thought.

“Felicity?” His voice came from directly behind her, making her jump. She hadn’t heard him approach, and she was suddenly worried that she had been talking to herself out loud. Had she said anything? Had he overheard anything? 

“Are you okay?” he asked softly, making her want to scream. 

‘No,’ she felt like shouting, ‘No, I am not at all okay!’ In fact, she was pretty sure she was going to spontaneously self-combust if he didn’t stop talking soon and started kissing her in stead! Like he had that night in the street…But she didn’t say anything. 

She shivered as he placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her around to face him. 

“Felicity,” he said, his hands not letting go of her shoulders. “Look at me.” His voice suddenly sounded rough and strained.

She slowly raised her eyes to his, afraid what he was going to see there. She suddenly felt like she was floating outside of herself, completely lost to the sensation of his simple touch and no longer able to remember why it had seemed so important to not give in to this...this thing between them. 

He took in a sharp breath and his eyes turned perceptibly darker as he gazed into her eyes, as if finding something he had been searching for. She couldn’t look away, her own breath was coming in shallow gasps, as she watched his eyes grow heavy and the hands on her shoulders seemed to be drawing her closer. He lowered his head till his lips were hovering just out of reach. Her eyes fluttered shut and she waited for him to close the distance between them. 

But he didn’t.

Her eyes flew open, taking in his handsome face so close to her own. A glint of insecurity passed over his features and in a flash of insight she realized that he was struggling too, with whatever was holding him back. Without thinking she pushed closer, placed her hands on his shoulders, stretched up and pressed her lips to his. 

And that’s all it took. 

With a sound like a suppressed groan he pulled her in sharply, hauled her against him as he kissed her hard, almost desperately. It was like he had been set to explode and had finally gotten release. His hand came up to cup the back of her head, holding her in place, and he kissed her like she was air and he was drowning. And she instantly lost herself to the mind-blowing intensity of it, just like she had that night in the street. 

She slid her hands up around his neck, holding on tight, as he explored her mouth, crushing her to him with his other arm. But she needed more and her hands travelled restlessly over his shoulders, his chest, down to his stomach, struggling to push away the fabric of his t-shirt that was caught between their bodies. It was almost like a physical relief when she finally slid her hands under the hem of his shirt, and felt the smooth, hot skin on the small of his back. She moaned and licked into his mouth and felt an answering shiver running through him, as her hands traced patterns on his skin. 

Her hands wandered up his solid back, a part of her mind reveling in the feel of hard muscles shifting under the warm skin, like fire and steel. Her fingers found the scars on his back, the skin a slightly different texture, and she carefully traced them, caressed them, as if trying to memorize them. 

She felt his other hand slide down, pushing her bulky sweatshirt aside and restlessly slide up her bare skin, setting her nerve endings on fire. His touch sent an electric current running up her spine and she felt lightheaded. His hands slipped down again, each hand cupping a rounded cheek, and suddenly she felt herself lifted as easily as if she was a doll not a full size woman. Instinctively she locked her legs around his waist as he lifted her up, and started walking towards the couch. The movement did funny things to her insides, as his hard length pressed against her even through their clothes, with his every move. 

“Bed?” she mumbled against his lips. 

“Too far,” he almost groaned, before he sat down on the couch with her straddling him. He looked into her eyes briefly. His were stormy and dark, and then his lips found hers again. He kept kissing her as his hands explored her back under the sweater, deftly opening her bra, allowing him access to every inch of her body. He broke off briefly to pull the hoodie off her, quickly followed by the t-shirt and bra. His eyes took her in hungrily, before he pulled her close again, his lips running kisses down her neck, from her jaw all the way to her collarbone, licking, nipping, tasting as he went. 

Felicity gave herself over to the sensations. The warmth from the fire licked over her naked backside, Oliver’s hot, hard body was pressed against her front, and his wandering hands set fire to her insides as well. She was burning up, and she rocked against him, needing to get closer to satisfy the need that had been building for so long. She pulled at his t-shirt and he paused just long enough to pull it off, tossing it to the side without a glance. She almost fainted when she finally felt his naked body pressed against hers. But then she felt herself lifted again, as Oliver shifted them. 

He laid her flat on her back on the couch, only stopping long enough to get rid of the rest of his own clothes, before he covered her body with his. His lips ran down her neck, seeking out the hollow at the base of her throat, then slipping further down, following the line of her breastbone. His large hands slid up the sides of her body, cupping the underside of her breasts, making her squirm. 

He took his time kissing first one, then the other until they were swollen, the tips tender and sensitive to his every touch. Her head was swimming and her entire body was humming. He lifted his head to look at her and then he slid one hand down, down between her thighs, caressing, searching, slowly driving her insane, until finally finding the spot that had been aching for his touch. For a second Felicity thought she was actually going to explode as his fingers stroked her lazily, in dizzying circles. Then he changed the pressure, rubbing in smaller circles, matching the rhythm to her own rocking motion. He kept his eyes locked with hers as he continued to caress her, keeping her trapped in the heat of his gaze. She couldn’t look away as the tension kept building, she couldn’t speak, she could only feel, as she finally let herself go and everything seemed to explode in white heat around her. 

It was like time stood still for a moment, and she was only vaguely aware of someone moaning loudly, and of large hands holding her, smoothing over her skin. When she opened her eyes again, she looked directly up into Oliver’s eyes. His gaze was dark, heated and so full of need she almost ignited again just looking at him. He bent down and caught her lips with his, and she circled his neck with her arms, pulling him down, happily taking his weight as he pushed her into the soft cushions. 

Felicity had only a few lucid moments during the hours that followed. They didn’t talk much as evening blurred into night, but they didn’t need to. At some point she must have fallen asleep, exhausted, in his arms. She woke up to Oliver nuzzling her neck, kissing her jaw, and sliding his hands over her body in a way that she had already come to recognize. When she turned over to kiss him she realized that they were on the floor in front of the fireplace, on a tangled heap of blankets. 

Oliver looked at her puzzled expression and laughed, before simply scooping her up in his arms and carrying her to bed. 

Her last conscious thought before drifting off to sleep was that the mysterious Oliver Queen was an even more man amazing than she had realized. He definitely had secrets of his own, but no matter what he was hiding, she was sure about one thing. What had happened here tonight was not just a reaction to the isolation, the fear and adrenalin. She knew that she had crossed a line and allowed herself to fall in love with this man, and that she could no longer walk away from him… 

***

Felicity stretched languorously and rolled onto her back without opening her eyes. She felt a smug, satisfied smile creep onto her face as memories of last night steamrolled over her. 

She stretched out an arm, to feel for Oliver, but the cold sheet on his side of the bed told her that she was alone. She opened one eye a crack and peered to his side of the bed. No, definitely no Oliver-shaped lump under the covers on that side. His pillow felt cool too, so he must have gotten up a while ago. 

With a resigned sigh, Felicity sat up in bed, feeling the full force of last night’s activities in her aching muscles. She felt around for her glasses, but couldn’t locate them in the grey light filtering through the small windows. Then she remembered Oliver taking them off while they were on the couch. She only hoped they had survived and hadn’t been another casualty of their night of passion like the lamp they had knocked over, shattering the bulb and crushing the shade. Felicity giggled to herself as she threw the covers off, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. She reached for a crumbled-up blanket at the foot of the bed, and wrapped it around herself as she got up and started searching for her glasses. 

The cabin was still warm, the fire burning brightly on the hearth, so he couldn’t have been gone long she figured. 

She shuffled barefoot to the couch, everything looking a bit blurry without her glasses. Clothes and blankets were strewn haphazardly around the couch and she started picking them up, shaking them in the hope that her glasses would materialize.

She draped a blanket over the back of the couch, and was just bending for the next item of clothing when she spotted them on the small end table, inches from her nose. Gratefully she slid them on, and surveyed her surroundings more thoroughly.

Apart from the mess around the couch everything looked exactly as it did last night. Except Oliver’s rain-jacket and his hiking boots were gone. No surprises there. 

But chances of him going out for coffee and bagels were pretty slim, she figured, seeing how they were in the middle of nowhere on the side of a mountain! She resolutely set about figuring out the tiny kitchen corner, to get some coffee going. She was aware that she was very deliberately avoiding thinking about what had happened, what was going to happen or what she was going to do – it would all just have to wait till she had some coffee in her, she decided. 

With a sigh of relief she located a jar of instant coffee in one of the cupboards. Not gourmet by any standards, but it was caffeinated, and beggers couldn’t be choosers, she reasoned. 

She rummaged through the cabinets for a small pot and finally found a dented old kettle. She filled it with the ice-cold water that Oliver had told her came from a small spring just outside the cabin, and set it to boil. 

While the water heated she searched for the clothes she had worn yesterday when they arrived. Oliver had taken them off her when they were soaking wet, and he must have hung them somewhere to dry. 

Last night she hadn’t paid much attention to her surroundings she realized with a blush. But now she quickly scanned the big room and the alcove with the bed, finding no sign of her own clothes. The tiny bathroom next to the alcove did, however, hold a narrow shower-stall, and she found her clothes hanging neatly over the shower-curtain rod, a small pool of water on the floor below a silent testimony to just how wet she had been. 

The kettle whistled and she gathered the blanket around her as she hurried out to make herself a cup of coffee. 

Half a cup of coffee and a slightly burned tongue later, Felicity felt herself slowly waking up. She decided she could do with a shower while the coffee cooled down a bit. She remembered vaguely Oliver telling her that there was a water heater, but that it was fairly small and took a long time to heat because the spring water was so icy. 

“So, no long luxurious shower then,” she mumbled to herself as she let the blanket drop to the floor and stepped in to the narrow stall. The first spray of water was like liquid ice on her body, and Felicity yelped loudly in shock. If the coffee hadn’t done the trick, this definitely would! 

But the water quickly turned warm, and she promptly forgot about the size of the water heater as she felt her muscles relax and practically hum in pleasure as the warm water pelted over her body. 

She found a shower-gel on the built-in shelf and started lathering up, taking her time and luxuriating in the fragrant steam and the massage of the hot water, when suddenly, without warning, the hot water ran out and once again the ice cold spray was stinging her sensitive skin.  
She felt the air rush out of her lungs in shock and almost fell out of the shower-stall, to find Oliver standing in the door to the bathroom, looking her over with poorly concealed amusement. 

For a second she just stood there, wet, naked and shivering, her body too shocked to react. Then he started laughing. In one long stride he was in front of her, reached around her to grab a towel, and wrapped her in it. 

He looked down at her, his eyes warm and happy. Then he bent down to press a quick kiss to her lips. 

“You forget the part about the water heater being the size of a tea-cup?” he asked, humor dancing in his eyes.

“No!” she spluttered, “but that…that is more like the size of an espresso-cup Mister!” She glared at him, feeling at a slight disadvantage naked and without her glasses in place. 

But then he bent down and kissed her again, and she decided that there really was no need for talking just yet. 

***

The early morning light had turned into grey and murky daylight, by the time their stomachs forced them out of bed to go and hunt for food. Oliver felt slightly lightheaded but wasn’t really sure if it was caused by hunger or this insane euphoria he was experiencing every time he so much as looked at her. He smiled and hummed to himself as he moved around the kitchen hunting for ingredients for an omelet. 

The storm clearly wasn’t letting up just yet, and it had been a cold and windy trip back down to the car that morning, but he had wanted to get the rest of their equipment out of the car while the rain had stopped. 

That, and he wanted to use the portable radio he carried in the trunk of the car, to contact his friends back in the city. He needed to make sure that someone was looking out for Thea – even if she didn’t think she needed it – and also he needed to find out if anything had happened after they left.

He felt Felicity’s arms creep around his waist from behind, interrupting his train of thought. 

“Hungry?” he asked with a big, goofy grin he just couldn’t seem to get rid of. 

“Starving!” she replied, before curiously examining the ingredients he’d piled together on the worktop. “Do you keep provisions here at all times? Or did we bring this yesterday?” she asked.

“Both, actually,” he said. “I keep a bunch of canned and dried food up here so I only need to bring up fresh stuff. This time however, I didn’t have time to go shopping as you might recall?” He paused to press a kiss to her forehead. “But I did bring some army-rations from the gym, just in case,” he added.

“You’ll be feasting on an omelet made from powdered eggs and canned mushrooms, with a side of baked beans.” He laughed at her dubious expression as she looked at the food again.

But then she smiled impishly and plunked herself into the chair by the door, to watch the proceedings.  
“Impress me, Master Chef!” she ordered with a laugh. 

Accepting her challenge Oliver set to work, mixing the egg powder with water, adding a bit of seasoning and drying the canned mushrooms. 

“So I never asked you,” Felicity voice came from behind him. “Where did you go this morning?” 

“I went back down to the car for the rest of our stuff,” he replied. “And I needed to contact one of my friends back in the city.” He cast her a quick look over his shoulder.

“What?” she sat up straight, suddenly very intent. “I thought you said there was no signal up here?” She hurriedly got up, obviously itching to get her hands on her cell-phone. 

“There isn’t,” he said, watching her drop back down in the chair. “That’s why I went down to the car. I have a portable satellite radio in the trunk.” He glanced at her sideways as she digested that piece of information.

Oliver stopped whisking and leaned back against the counter, facing her. He debated with himself how much he should tell her, but decided that the time for evasion was long gone. 

“I got in touch with a buddy of mine back in the city,” he said. “He’s going to be keeping an eye on Thea while I’m gone.” He paused for a bit trying to figure out how to tell her the next bit.

“He also told me that there has been a break-in at the office and that the place has been tossed.” He looked at her to see how she was taking the news. 

“I asked him to check up on your place too,” he added quietly. “I’m guessing they’ve been there too if they’ve been to the office.”

Her face had gone white all of a sudden, all traces of playfulness gone. He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and tell her that everything was going to be all right, but he knew he couldn’t promise her that. Not without knowing what they were up against. 

“Oliver, I’m so sorry,” she gasped. “I’m so, so sorry. This is all my fault, I should have never dragged you into this.” She looked completely wrecked as she processed the information.

Oliver felt a stab of guilt to his gut as he watched her anguish, and quickly covered the distance between them.

“Listen,” he said as he dropped to his knees in front of her chair. “This is not your fault. In fact, it’s probably my fault.” He waited till she looked at him, confusion and guilt warring for first place on her face. 

“What? How? How can it be your fault?” she stammered, confusion winning out. 

Oliver suddenly felt a little nervous about telling her what he had done. He realized now that his poking around in her affairs may very well be the cause of all their current trouble, and he wondered just how upset she was going to be when she found out. 

“Oliver?” she asked, that small, adorable frown appearing between her brows. 

“Well,” he said hesitantly, “I might have done something.” He looked at her sheepishly. “I might have done some digging into your past,” he elaborated. “Like I told you I would,” he added, as if that would make it any better that pesky little voice in the back of his head mumbled sarcastically.

“And I might have sort of sent Dig to Boston to follow up on some of the leads I had…” he trailed off.

There was silence for a beat. 

“You what?” she shouted, sitting up very straight in her chair, her eyes suddenly shooting daggers, her cheeks flushed. 

An oddly detached part of his brain registered that she was absolutely glorious in her anger. The rest of him flinched and wanted to explain, desperate to make her understand that he had only wanted to help. That he had done it because he wanted her to be safe. ‘Because you love her,’ that annoying little voice whispered, but he shrugged it off, deciding that that particular issue would have to wait. 

“Oliver,” she carried on, her voice, usually sweet and husky, suddenly like steel. “What exactly have you done?” she asked, pronouncing each syllable. 

He told her about the things he had uncovered about her past, her time at MIT and how he kept running into blanks whenever he got close to getting answers. So he had sent Dig out there to talk to some people and try to get around the roadblocks. 

She didn’t say anything while he talked. She just sat there, arms crossed and a very stony look on her beautiful face. 

“So what you’re saying is,” she finally cut through in that very precise voice. “What you’re saying is that you decided to violate my privacy, ignore my wishes and basically put not just yourself, Dig and me – but possibly even Thea - in danger just to satisfy your own curiosity?” She glared at him, practically breathing fire he thought.

“Is that about right, Oliver?” she snapped. 

“Felicity, look,” he said, trying to sound reasonable but aware that it came out like a plea. “I was only trying to protect you,” he said. “I just wanted to help, to make sure you were safe. I thought I could help slay a few dragons for you…” he said, suddenly feeling very, very foolish. 

Judging by the look on her face she felt the same way, he noticed with a sinking feeling.

“Oliver, that has got to be the most arrogant, over-protective nonsense ever!” she practically exploded. “Why on earth would you go and dig around in things that are no concern of yours without so much as asking me first? You have no idea what you’ve done!” She looked furious, and like she was on the verge of tears at the same time. 

Something inside of him snapped. 

“Exactly!” he yelled. “That is exactly right. I have no idea, because you won’t talk to me. Felicity, I know you’re running from something. I know you have demons in your past, and I know you’re trying to deal with it on your own. But Felicity, have you ever stopped to think that maybe you could use some help? That maybe if you would just trust someone for just a second you wouldn’t have to deal with this alone?” he was glaring at her too now. “I’m not completely incapable you know,” he added in a more quiet voice. “And I care about you Felicity. I want to help. Please, let me help you…”

They sat there immobile for what felt like an eternity, staring at each other, both of them breathing hard. 

“Do you trust me, Felicity?” he finally asked, the quiet question seeming to rip the silence between them. 

She glared at him for a second longer, then her shoulders slumped and she sighed.

“I do,” she said softly. 

He breathed a sigh of relief.

“But Oliver,” she added, bringing him up short. “That has to go both ways. You can’t go snooping behind my back, and you don’t get to decide when and how I need protection.” Her gaze was firm as she looked directly into his eyes.

He nodded thoughtfully. 

“Right,” he said. “Agreed.” He looked at her for a second, searching her face for clues.

“I think we have some talking to do,” he finally said, holding out his hand to her as he got up. 

She looked at it for a split second as if debating whether to accept it. Then she put her hand in his and let him pull her up. 

“Fine,” she said, leaning into him. “Food first – then we talk!”


	13. Full Disclosure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is finally time for The Talk! 
> 
> Felicity has been dreading it for several reasons, but she finds she has to make a choice: either pack up and leave or tell him everything - even if that means he might decide to send her away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally I found time for another update - so sorry for the delay, but life happened. End-of-the-year craziness at work combined with too many holiday parties :-)
> 
> It's been a bit choppy writing with all these stops and starts, but I hope the chapter isn't too incoherent.
> 
> Also I'm more or less through the party-season so I plan on doing one more update before Christmas and another before New Years.
> 
> Hope you haven't given up on me... :-)

The rain was lashing against the windowpanes again by the time they finished their meal. Dark storm clouds blotted out what little daylight had been seeping into the cabin, setting the stage perfectly for ‘The Talk’, Felicity thought with a wry smile. The occasional sound of firewood popping seemed incongruously cheerful in the descending gloom. 

The meal had been an awkward affair. Conversation had been at a minimum. At first she had been bristling with a sense of betrayal at his violation of her privacy. 

And Oliver in turn, seeming painfully aware that he was on probation as far as she was concerned, had overcompensated by being extra attentive to her every need. But her continued silence was clearly putting him on edge. 

After the initial outrage she had actually been more preoccupied with thoughts on how to explain everything – but she hadn’t felt the need to clarify that to him. He deserved to roast a little for having gone behind her back, she reasoned. He had been investigating her for crying out loud! And all the while she’d been right there, in his office, just a few feet away from him, taking care of his business! So she hadn’t felt too bad about his obvious discomfort. 

However, even if she wasn’t forgiving him that easily, his clumsy attempts at making amends almost made her laugh and it was just so hard to keep a good scowl going when you were fighting a smile. 

And he did have a very unfair weapon in those skilled hands and lips of his…Felicity lost her train of thought, and shifted uncomfortably in her seat, as she recalled how the meal had ended. 

When his efforts of contrition hadn’t yielded results immediately he had tried a different approach, wooing her in a way that should be illegal, she decided – in fact, it probably was in some places. A soft giggle escaped her and she felt heat creep into her cheeks. 

At the sound Oliver threw her a curious glance from his end of the couch, bringing her up short. It was definitely her turn to be in the hot seat, she realized. 

Felicity twisted the corner of the throw pillow between her fingers, and studied it with more interest than the faded fabric warranted. She was sitting cross-legged on the old couch, hugging the pillow to her chest as if for protection while she talked. She felt the need for extra bolstering to get through this. She sighed inwardly and tried to gather her thoughts to finish her story. 

She had started by blurting out the headlines in a rush and was trying to fill in the gaps now, but she had a feeling it all came out like popcorn shooting in every direction. 

Her usually analytical mind seemed to have jumped ship once the knots and butterflies in her stomach had spread to her heart. She grimaced. She had never intended to get attached to anyone while her life was such a mess. And obviously she had been right to keep her distance. She shouldn’t be involving other people in her life until she had everything straightened out. It was too dangerous. 

Except… she just had to look at him and her heart was doing a happy dance. The stupid thing was being very uncooperative! And it was really difficult to stay firm and focused when every fiber in her body seemed to be hyperaware of him. 

Even now, without touching or even looking at him, she was highly sensitive to Oliver’s reclining form at the other end of the couch. It was like an invisible current was running between them. Instinctively she knew that he wasn’t any more at ease than she was. His body was strung tight as a bow and his face was unreadable as he processed what she was telling him. 

“So that’s the short version,” she mumbled in conclusion to her hurried, jumbled-up explanation, sneaking a quick look at the man sitting less than a foot from her. 

Her heart gave a not so gentle squeeze. His face was so heartbreakingly handsome in the flickering light from the fireplace, and she wanted so badly to reach out and run her fingertips over the stubble covering his jaw, to outline the curve of his lip, and… 

‘Stop it!’ she admonished herself. But she couldn’t stop the flutters in her stomach whenever she looked at him. 

***

Oliver turned around and stared at her with a slightly shocked expression. He slowly leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and clasped his hands in front of him as if for support. The tense muscles in his arms were the only outward indication of his anxiety. 

“Okay, just let me try and get this straight,” he said slowly as if repeating it would make it more believable.   
“What you’re saying is that you - Felicity Smoak, top-of-your-year MIT graduate - is currently at the top of the FBI Cyber Crime Unit’s ‘persons of interest’-list?” His eyes had taken on a slightly glazed-over expression she noticed. 

His incredulity was almost funny, Felicity thought briefly. Or at least it would have been if the situation wasn’t so desperate. 

“Yes, that’s pretty much the gist of it,” she nodded.   
“And I know I probably should have mentioned it at the job-interview,” she added hurriedly. “But the whole FBI-thing…that’s not really the bad part.” She frowned in concentration as she organized her thoughts for the part of her story that she still hadn’t told him. 

“What?” he interrupted her thought-process, looking even more overwhelmed. “Being on the FBI’s watch-list isn’t bad? He stared at her for a beat.   
“Actually, forget I asked,” he added closing his eyes for a minute. “The FBI would hardly come at you the way those guys did yesterday,” he reasoned out loud. 

He opened his eyes again pinning her with a direct, serious gaze. “What exactly have you gotten yourself into, Felicity?” He stared at her, a peculiar mixture of fear and consternation lurking in the blue depths of his eyes.

With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she took a deep breath and carried on.

“Being on the FBI’s radar certainly is…inconvenient,” she finally settled on.   
“I mean that’s the reason I can’t get a real job.” She paused for a moment. “Well, not a job that requires any kind of security clearance that is…no offense,” she added, realizing how it might have sounded.

“None taken,” he said weakly, waving it off.

“But being on their list is actually kind of reassuring sometimes,” she said with a shrug, in an offhand manner that she hoped he bought.   
“Except for the fact that it makes me afraid to even jaywalk for fear that they might use it as an excuse to pull me in for questioning of course,” she added with a chuckle, hoping that a bit of humor might defuse the tension in the room. 

“Again, what?” Oliver said looking more unhinged than reassured. 

“Well,” she explained, “I just figured as long as the FBI was watching me, the others wouldn’t grab me.” She shrugged. “Clearly I was mistaken,” she added drily.

Oliver stared at her in silence. She fidgeted with the pillow. 

“The others?” he asked pointedly.   
“Felicity, who exactly is after you? And don’t tell me you’re afraid of being abducted by aliens,” he said, his voice actually sounded pained. “Aliens don’t come at you guns blazing outside a regular office building!”

Felicity couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled over at that statement.

“How would you know?” she giggled, “But no, of course not. If only…! I could probably talk my way out of that one,” she mused. “And if not, it would at least be interesting…” she added absentmindedly, losing her train of thought in speculation for a moment, forgetting that he was waiting for her to elaborate. 

“Felicity!” he barked, snapping her out of her reverie.

“What?” she replied, momentarily forgetting what they were talking about. “Oh, yes, I mean no – no aliens. At least not in the ‘green men from Mars’-sense of the word,” she added, with a grin. 

“The danger – the reason I didn’t want you to go digging around in this,” she said, looking meaningfully at him with a renewed flare of indignation at his unasked meddling.   
“The reason is men like the ones who came at us yesterday. They’re part of an…organization, for lack of a better word, that is after a code I wrote – or rather after me, I guess, since they already sort of have the code, they just can’t use it without…now that…” she cut her babbling short, once more lost in thought. 

“What I mean is,” she added, quickly rearranging her thoughts. “They are looking for someone to help them activate the code and decrypt whatever data they already stole, but can’t access. I’m guessing by now they have realized he can’t help them and that I might be the person they need – and clearly they now know where to locate me….” She shot him another annoyed look, pleased that she was once again able to tap into her former feeling of resentment. 

Her heart still fluttered whenever she looked at him, but at least if she was angry with him, she could try and focus on that, she reasoned, and not think about the very likely outcome of this talk…

Oliver stared at her, looking a bit shell-shocked, she noted. 

“Who’s ‘he’?” he finally asked.   
“What code? What data? Who stole this… this, whatever it is?” He broke off and took a deep breath. Then he deliberately unclenched his fists, smoothing his hands down his denim-clad thighs, in a way that instantly made Felicity’s mouth go dry. All thoughts of her predicament - and her anger - went out the window. 

“Okay,” he said slowly, snapping her out of her fascination.   
“I think I’m going to need you to break this story down in smaller bites for me,” he added, still looking and sounding as if she’d wacked him over the head with a base-ball bat. “Would you mind starting from the beginning please?”

 

***

Oliver silently shook his head in disbelief. How had his beautiful, brilliant IT-girl managed to land herself in this kind of trouble? And how could she sit there and talk about it so matter-of-factly? 

On the one hand he was in awe of this woman but at the same time he wanted to throw her over his lap and give her a good spanking for being so reckless with her own safety! His heart actually skipped several beats at the thought of what might have happened if he hadn’t been there yesterday. 

And her story was just so unreal! 

‘Felicity Smoak, genius, MIT-graduate, with an exciting career in computer science ahead of her, suddenly – mostly through no fault of her own - winds up in the cross hairs of not only the FBI but also – and far more dangerously – a group of cyber terrorists, with god knows what on their agenda!’ 

It sounded like the plot of a really bad TV-movie or something. The sort of scenario people were always telling themselves could never happen in real life, to real people. 

But having witnessed the attack on her first hand, and considering the amount of red tape he’d run into himself trying to find out about her past, he had no choice but to take it seriously. 

He sighed and went over her story one more time. 

According to Felicity, she and a group of fellow MIT-students had been playing around with code-writing and hacking in their spare time. To them it had all been a learning exercise – a study group, she had called it - not a means to criminal activity. 

It wasn’t supposed to be used for anything outside of school, she had explained, they were just acting out of academic curiosity. It was all theoretical and simply the result of curious minds pushing the boundaries of the world of technology that they were studying. Most of it had even been discussed with their professor – although always presented as hypothesis, she had admitted sheepishly.

It hadn’t occurred to her that their activities could be problematic before suddenly the FBI was knocking on her door, with a warrant to search her dorm room and – more importantly – her laptop, citing suspicion of ‘acts of cyber terrorism’ and ‘theft’. 

She had thought it was a joke at first – a really elaborate prank played on her by her friends or something. And when it had slowly dawned on her that the men in suits weren’t kidding, she had been in shock.

At first no one would tell her what they suspected her of doing exactly, but she gradually pieced together information about what had happened and what they thought she had done. 

The source of the whole nightmare was a shy, unobtrusive boy in their study-group, who no one had ever thought of as anything but harmless. But as it turned out, he had a serious gambling problem, and in order to cover his gambling debts, he had sold a complex piece of code that she had written. 

The code would embed itself seamlessly into the mainframe of any system it was introduced into, harvesting and then erasing data without leaving a trace. She had written it purely as an experiment, she assured Oliver, never for a minute thinking it would be introduced into an actual system. 

To make matters worse, as far as the FBI knew, the buyers were a cyber crime organization, looking to infiltrate a major medical company’s system. Whether it was for purely monetary purposes or for something more sinister no one knew, because it seemed they had so far been unsuccessful in actually unlocking the data they had retrieved. Her study-group friend had helped the buyers plant the code, but had apparently been unable to deploy it properly, and hadn’t been able help them retrieve and decrypt the data they were after. As far as anyone knew…

Unfortunately he had been clever enough to use a hacking technique that she had developed, basically leaving her electronic fingerprints all over the cyber crime-scene! And since there was nothing to indicate anyone else’s involvement, and with the code also pointing back to her, she had found herself under intense investigation by the FBI.

The investigation had been inconclusive however, partly because she had an alibi for the time of the ‘break-in’, but mostly because the actual hack couldn’t be traced back to her laptop. 

Obviously! - she indignantly pointed out to a stunned Oliver - since she hadn’t done it! 

The only thing connecting her with the crime was her hand in developing the code, and the evidence was considered too circumstantial to carry. The FBI had been forced to put the investigation on hold, but it hadn’t been terminated, and her name therefore hadn’t been cleared. 

In fact, her name was now very much in the system, and whenever a security-check was run, the FBI would get an alert, effectively banning her from getting any of the work she had dreamed of, and keeping the FBI up to date on her activities in the process.

So there she was, graduated, but unable to get a job with any of the companies that she’d hoped to work for because of the blacklisting of her name. No longer a star-student that would get a glowing recommendation from the school where she had - apparently - learned the tools of her criminal trade, and knowing that no matter where she chose to go, the FBI would follow and scrutinize her every move. She had gone from ‘most likely to succeed’ to ‘hopeless’ in a matter of days!

But even worse, the people who had bought the code from her study group friend had quickly discovered that they hadn’t gotten what they had paid for. And to save his own hide, her friend – well, ex-friend, she added drily - had helpfully pointed them in her direction. So she had needed to disappear, and quickly! 

And that, she had finished her story, was how she wound up on the west coast, with no job, no money, no contact with friends or family, going completely off the grid, and sporting a brand new look. 

Oliver’s mind flickered to images of that black-haired, angry-looking girl who’d waltzed into his office weeks ago, and he briefly wondered what the MIT-version of Felicity Smoak had looked like. 

Probably nothing like the woman who was currently sitting cross-legged in front of him, golden hair tumbling down her back, those sexy glasses perched on her nose, as she frowned in concentration. 

He felt a flash of fury at whoever was putting her in danger, followed by a desperate desire to protect her. Not for the first time he contemplated whisking her away to some remote location, for safe keeping until this could all be resolved. But he knew her well enough to realize that she wasn’t going to let him. Not if her actions so far were anything to go by.

Finding herself on the opposite side of the country, she had set about searching for a way to prove herself innocent. However, she had soon realized that while she was able to make herself disappear almost completely – thanks to her tech expertise - the only way to clear her name was to find something that linked her former study-group friend with the crime. 

She had to find the smoking gun so to speak.

But until she could do that, she needed as unassuming a life as possible. She needed to fly under the radar and become as anonymous and untraceable as possible. Which is why she had come looking for a low-key tech job to pay the bills – in cash! 

He felt a flash of admiration for her courage and resourcefulness, but it quickly turned to concern again as he studied her slight frame, as she sat there clutching that stupid pillow to her chest like a child taking comfort from a stuffed toy. 

Fighting an urge to reach out and pull her into his arms, he forced himself to relax back against the couch and carry on searching for a way forward out of this mess. He wanted to be the one to give her comfort. To keep her safe. But he had a feeling she didn’t want to be cuddled and protected. She had come this far on her own, and she wasn’t likely to just let him take over now. And considering her reaction to his investigation of her, he was pretty sure she’d pack up and leave without a trace if he didn’t play by her rules. 

Oliver chewed on his lip, staring unseeingly into the flames as he considered how best to approach this. He had no doubt that his IT-girl would resist any attempt he made to take control. He was a quick study and didn’t need to make the same mistake twice – he had to make sure she was on board with what he had in mind. Otherwise he might as well say his goodbyes now, and he wasn’t about to let her go.

***

Felicity zipped up the last pocket in the small backpack and gave it a satisfied pat. She wasn’t looking forward to the trek back down to the car - the freezing, wet hike up the mountain was still too fresh in her memory. But she was eager to get going and to start acting, now that decisions had been made. 

She turned around to survey the cabin, to make sure nothing had been forgotten. But she was pretty much wearing everything she had brought she realized with a small shrug.

It hadn’t been easy to persuade Oliver to take her back to the city, but in the end he had agreed that if they wanted to put an end to this, they had to take action, and there wasn’t anything they could do cooped up in the cabin. 

She had – reluctantly – agreed to let him help her find the missing evidence that would clear her name, figuring that his experience both as an investigator and as an ex-marine might come in handy. And he did have some pretty useful resources at his disposal, she grudgingly admitted. 

Felicity frowned at the thought. It reminded her that he still owed her not just one, but several explanations about his own past and present life. He was still as much of a mystery as he had been when this all started. 

The door opened with a gust of cold wind, and Oliver came back in. After tamping down the fire, he had taken care of everything out-side - closing up, turning off the generator, leaving the cabin in the gloomy light of a stormy, early afternoon. 

“Are you ready?” he asked with a tight smile, clearly still not comfortable with the plan.

Felicity eyed the scudding clouds through the small window in the living-room skeptically. It didn’t look like rain, but she had a newfound respect for the rapid change in weather conditions in these parts, and didn’t trust the windy, cloudy day to stay dry. 

But there wasn’t anything she could do about it. They had to get back and that meant hiking back down this stupid mountain, she thought grumpily. 

“Sure,” she said with a resigned sigh. “Let’s get out of here before we get bogged down by a blizzard or an earthquake or something”.

“Now would that be so bad?” he laughed with a mischievous grin, waggling his eyebrows suggestively at her. 

She blushed, not trusting herself to answer. In stead she busied herself with getting the backpack secured. 

In spite of the current tension between them caused by their disagreement on how to handle the situation, not everything about this trip had been bad, she thought, feeling heat rise up her neck. 

The circumstances hadn’t been ideal – not by a long shot – but she had no regrets about what had happened between them, and she would like to see where it could go. And maybe he felt the same, she thought with of a hopeful flutter in her belly. 

The idea stopped her dead in her tracks. She was suddenly very conscious of her own heartbeat, the cool air on her skin, and the sound of the wind in the trees outside. She breathed in sharply. She was keenly aware that in spite of their intimacy over the past two days, they hadn’t actually talked about what was going on between them. 

There was an undeniable chemistry, definitely. He felt that too she was sure. But was it more than a few sparks of physical attraction? 

Okay, so maybe it was more like a huge, freaking bonfire, she silently admitted to herself. But a few nights of unbelievable, amazing, unparalleled, mindblowing lov... sex! she quickly corrected herself. A couple of nights of amazing sex – and a few stray kisses – didn’t make a relationship, and so far there were no words between them to indicate that it was anything more than a little chemistry, a lot of adrenalin and the intimacy of their isolation that had led to…that. 

Except… last night – after they had The Talk – she had been prepared for him to give her marching orders. She would have completely understood if had told her that he couldn’t risk keeping her on, because it put his friends and family in danger. She had been dreading it, but she had enough experience with other people’s priorities to expect it. 

But he had surprised her again. 

He had not mentioned the possible fall-out on himself or anyone he cared for. He had simply focused on how to get the job done. How to clear her name. 

Of course that had quickly led to another heated debate, when she insisted they go back to the city. He seemed hell-bent on making sure she was kept safe, and had taken it as a personal insult when she suggested that she wanted to get Barry Allen to help out with the forensic angle.

A delicious chill ran down her spine as she recalled how he had leaned forward, both hands firmly planted on the kitchen counter, all alpha-male and determined. HE was going to help her fix whatever problem she had, HE was going to make sure she was safe and so on. 

She had argued that it would be stupid not to use all resources available to them, all the while unconsciously edging closer and closer, unaware that she was more or less toe to toe with him. She was still arguing passionately when he suddenly growled in frustration, gripped the top of her arms and pulled her in tight, crushing his lips to hers. 

That’s when she had discovered that even though she found his bossy over-protective attitude hugely annoying, offensive, overbearing, patronizing and lots of other things along those lines, he was also seriously hot when he was being all brawny and protective! 

With a moan she had stabbed her fingers into his hair, pulling his head down, and opened her lips to him. She had been surprised by the rush of passion coursing through her, fueled by their argument as much as the latent desire that always seemed to be present whenever he was around. 

It had been messy at first, clumsy grabbing and pulling at clothes, both of them too needy to be gentle with each other. It was like they both sought the relief of skin-to-skin contact, needing all barriers between them gone. It had been rough, primal and unapologetically sexy, she thought blushing deeper at the memory. 

And just like that she had decided that they had done enough talking for one night. It was enough of a victory to have him agree to take her back to the city the next day. She would let him have his way when it came to protecting her. 

Besides, she really had no objection to being by his side, she thought with a smug grin, as she followed him out of the cabin and began stumbling her way down the path leading back down the mountain.


	14. Playing House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in the city Oliver an Felicity need to establish some ground rules - not only for the mission to clear her name but also for their personal relationship...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, an early update this week - I guess I'm finding a little extra time now that Christmas hiatus is upon us :-) - and also I'm enjoying myself with this right now.
> 
> Anyway, I'll be on Christmas vacation myself for the next week, so next update will probably be right before New Years.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has read and commented - it really means SO much! - and Happy Holidays to all!

The first part of the drive was spent in comfortable silence. Oliver drove swiftly but surely through the hilly, forested area at the foot of the mountains. Occasionally they passed another car, but mostly the road was empty. Felicity relaxed in her seat, content to let him take charge for a while. She looked out the window, taking in the beauty of the landscape, which she hadn’t been able to appreciate on the drive up. 

“Can I ask you a question?” Oliver’s quiet voice interrupted her peaceful mood. 

“Sure,” she said turning in her seat to look at him. 

“What did you tell them?” he asked, with a puzzled frown. “Your family I mean,” he added. “How did you explain to them that you were going to take off and wouldn’t be in touch? Did they just accept that? Do they know what’s going on? Is there a chance they could be in danger too?” 

The questions kept piling up, and Felicity started shaking her head even before he was done talking. 

“I don’t really have much family,” she said with a shrug. “It’s just me and my mom really. I’m an only child,” she explained. “And so is my mother. My grandparents died years ago, and my father was never really in the picture.” 

She leaned her head on the headrest, staring unseeingly out the window.

“It all happened so fast right around graduation,” she said wistfully. “One minute I had job-interviews lined up for weeks, the next I was on the run.”

Oliver cast her a quick glance, and reached out to cover her hand with his. He gave it a reassuring squeeze, but didn’t remove his hand. 

“I called my mom and told her I had changed my mind about getting a job straight away,” she continued. “I told her that I had decided to take a break and do some travelling with a friend from school before joining the ranks of the working.” She smiled a sad little smile.   
“My mom was thrilled for me, even when I warned her that I might be travelling to parts of the world where I wouldn’t be able to email or text her all the time.” Felicity sighed dejectedly. 

“It has always been my mom’s dream to travel the world, but she got pregnant with me at an early age and had to work to pay the bills – and to raise me. So she never had the chance herself.” She looked briefly at Oliver, who was listening intently to her story.

“Anyway,” Felicity carried on. “My mother knew I had some savings from my consulting-work, and she was ecstatic that I was going to live the dream for a while, before settling down. All she asked was that I be smart, be careful and send her emails or postcards whenever possible.” 

Felicity laced the fingers of the hand he was still holding through his, seeking comfort in the physical contact. 

“So now I lie to her via the occasional email, always making sure to go a roundabout way, through multiple servers worldwide, to obscure the actual origin of the email – not for my mother’s sake,” she quickly interjected. “She wouldn’t know anything about tracing an email, but just in case those people are watching her too,” she added. 

“I tell her all about the fantastic things I’m seeing, places I’m visiting, foreign food and cultures… It requires quite a lot of research actually, and I still haven’t quite decided what to do about my lack of holiday photos,” she said drily. 

Then she sighed again, slumping down in her seat a little.

“I hate lying to her,” she admitted quietly. “But it’s for her own safety.” 

Oliver didn’t speak. He simply raised their joined hands and kissed the back of her hand, before rubbing it gently against his cheek. 

The gesture tugged at her heart, and she felt a lump forming in her throat. With an effort she swallowed and blinked rapidly to remove the excess moisture that was suddenly pooling in her eyes. 

“So, in answer to your question,” she said, struggling to keep her tone bright. “I haven’t told my mom about this whole mess, she doesn’t know anything and she isn’t worried about me at the moment. At least I don’t have to worry about that.”

***

Oliver swore silently, and clenched the hand holding the wheel tighter. He felt the need to punch someone for doing this to her - for making her life miserable and for putting her in danger. 

He hated feeling powerless, and he was boiling with suppressed rage and felt in desperate need of an outlet. But right now she needed him more, so he tamped down those impulses and continued to ask her questions about her former life, hoping to find inspiration along the way. 

They were getting closer to civilization now, passing farms and small towns along the way. Soon they would be back in the city. And that begged the question of what to do next. 

Oliver felt the tension creeping up his neck, spreading through his shoulders, as he went over different options in his head. 

Dig should be back in the city by now, and he needed to talk to his friend as soon as possible to hear every detail of what he had uncovered on the East Coast. Felicity may have told her side of the story as far as she knew it, but Dig would have been able to uncover a detail or two about the people hunting her. 

The fact that he had been followed was at least a pretty good indication that he had gotten close to some uncomfortable truths, Oliver thought. 

They would probably have to operate out of the warehouse for the moment, he reflected. The office had definitely been compromised and those people would most certainly have it under surveillance.

But the warehouse – or the ‘gym’ as Felicity called it - seemed to have escaped their notice so far. Not surprising, since it was an unlikely place for anyone to spend time, unless you were loading or unloading trucks, but also because his particular section of the warehouse complex had been equipped with state of the art security. He would have known if anyone had been snooping around, he thought with satisfaction.

“Are we meeting up with Dig straight away?” Felicity’s question interrupted his speculation. 

“I thought we’d just settle in first, then get in touch with him and meet up for a debriefing,” he said, concentrating on the traffic that was getting heavier as they approached the city.

“’Debriefing’?” Felicity chuckled. “You sound like you’re running a military campaign or something.” 

Oliver glanced at her quickly, a cautious smile playing on his lips. 

“Well, it’s not too far from the truth all things considered, is it?” he said casually. He could feel Felicity looking at him, but he focused on traffic, deliberately avoiding that particular discussion. It would have to be postponed for later. Now wasn’t the time for that. 

Apparently she wasn’t in the mood for drilling him right now either, because she let it go, and leaned back in her seat again as they settled into the slow-moving traffic of the city center.

“Oh, you missed my turn, Oliver,” she said a moment later, when he went straight across an intersection. 

“I’m not taking you home,” he replied, staring straight ahead.

“What?” she said, confusion quickly followed by suspicion washing over her face.

“Oliver, where are you taking me?” she asked, a steely note creeping into her voice. 

“Come on Felicity,” he said with a quick sideways glance at her. “I can’t take you to your place. You know I can’t. They know where you live and there’s no way I’m dropping you right back in their lap!” He felt a scowl forming on his face at the thought. 

“But what about my stuff?” she said. “I need my clothes, my…things!” she ended feebly. 

“Felicity!” he snapped. “We’ll get you whatever you need, but you’re not going back there! I didn’t go through all the trouble of keeping you alive the first time just to hand you over to them now!”

He could feel her fuming at his side for what seemed like an eternity, while she mulled over his words. 

“Fine!” she finally said, in a tone that clearly said it was anything but fine. “But what do you have in mind? Where exactly are you taking me?”

Oliver fidgeted in his seat, pretending to be preoccupied by traffic, while deliberating his answer. 

“Oliver?” she pressed. “Where are you taking me?”

“Oh, I thought you could just stay with me for a while,” he said in what he hoped was a casual tone. “I’ve got plenty of room.”

“Stay with you?” she said suddenly sounding uncertain. “But… what makes you think they don’t know where you live too?” Something about her tone made him think it wasn’t the question she really wanted to ask. 

“I’ve thought of that,” he nodded, “and I don’t think they do. But even if they find out, my building has really good security…and I’ve added some extra precautions to my own unit,” he trailed off. “We’ll be safe there.”

“You want me to stay with you?” she asked again, sounding a little dazed. 

“Yes. Is that so bad?” he asked quietly, suddenly afraid of her answer. “I mean, you did just survive two days alone with me in the mountains,” he added with a small, cute smile. 

Felicity looked away, but not before he noticed the blush that quickly rose in her cheeks. 

“I guess,” she mumbled to the window. 

“But Oliver,” she said, turning back around to face him. “Those were pretty extreme circumstances. Are you sure it would be a good idea to install me in your home now that we’re back here…in the city?” she searched his face for a second. “You could just drop me at a hotel, you know,” she added.

“Hotels have crappy security,” he said with a deepening scowl. “There’s no way I’m leaving you as live bait for these guys to snap up! You’re staying with me!” 

He expected a fierce comeback, but was surprised when she leaned back in her seat, a thoughtful look on her face.

“Okay,” she finally said. “I’ll stay with you for now. But the deal still stands,” she glared at him. “I’m part of this. You and Dig better not go off on your own and fight my battle for me!” 

“Deal!” he said quickly, thinking that the finer details of that deal would have to be hammered out another time. The important part was that he got to keep her safe for now. 

***

Felicity relaxed back against the side of the big sunken tub in Oliver’s bathroom. Fragrant steam was swirling all around her, and the lighting was subdued. She had lit the surprisingly large number of candles, lining the built-in shelves along the wall, and was preparing for a long, luxurious soak to get rid of some of the tension in her shoulders, and hopefully some of the ghosts in her head.   
They had arrived at Oliver’s apartment in the early afternoon. She had been impressed not only with the building’s security and the discretion and efficiency of the twenty-four hour staff, but also with the ‘extra precautions’ that Oliver had mentioned. 

It turned out they consisted in a military grade alarm system, reinforced front door and windows and some very impressive-looking men in black combat-boots, black cargo-pants and some sort of functional-looking black sweaters. They looked like beefed-up Ninjas to Felicity as Oliver introduced them. They were friendly and polite but kept a professional distance with her. And they treated Oliver with respectful camaraderie, she noted. Sort of like a highly respected and revered superior officer. Curious.

Once they were alone, things had gotten a little more awkward though. 

Oliver had been very decisive and determined in getting her there, but once he had her here he seemed to get more insecure by the minute. 

First, there had been the matter of their sleeping arrangements. In the cabin there really hadn’t been much choice - and besides, the whole discussion had been made obsolete by the…turn of events, Felicity recalled with a delicious shiver.

But here, at his apartment, there was a perfectly adequate guest room down the hall from the master bedroom. Two days ago she would have been installed in that spare room without question. Now it just made both of them uncomfortably aware that they still hadn’t really talked about what had happened between them or how they were going to proceed. 

Felicity wrung out a washcloth and draped it over her face. She could literally feel the tight muscles in her jaw relaxing as she inhaled the scent of lavender and citrus. She sighed in contentment and wriggled her toes in the hot water. 

She closed her eyes and felt an amused smile form on her lips as she recalled how funny and cute Oliver had been in his embarrassement about the bedrooms. 

He had given her a tour of the place and told her to make herself at home. But when she’d raised a questioning eyebrow at him, casting a meaningful look at the two bedroom doors, he had floundered. He had looked so helpless she had almost burst out laughing in spite of the tension of the situation. 

In the end she had made the decision for him, simply depositing her few belongings in the master bedroom, noting with relief the happy grin on his face. 

There had also been the matter of getting her the few basics she was going to need. There was no knowing how long she would have to stay and she was going to need clothes and a number of personal items in the meantime. She had made a list and handed it over to Oliver, who assured her he would have someone take care of it. 

She had wanted to know how, but before they could get into that, Dig had called. 

Oliver had promptly announced that he and Dig were going to meet up, and compare notes on what they had uncovered about the people who where after her. Naturally, her immediate reaction had been to insist that he bring her along as agreed. 

He had refused, arguing that today was only about catching each other up, and also, that he wanted to take the opportunity to check up on the security of the warehouse. He needed to make sure it was safe before bringing her there. 

And then he had thrown in the final trump card: he had given her full access to his home office with its surprisingly high-powered computer and secure internet-access. 

She hadn’t touched a computer or been online in days and she had practically been itching to get her hands on the keyboard and get to work. There were just so many things she could do from here and so much they needed to check up on, that it had seemed like a much better use of her time to stay right here with this beautiful piece of electronics to work her own special brand of magic, she had rationalized. 

She had, however, made sure to tell him that she hadn’t given in on her demand to be included – she was just re-prioritizing her time for the moment. She would expect a full report on Dig’s findings when he got back. 

Oliver had accepted that without comment but had proceeded to deliver a stern lecture on how she should call him on the burner phone he had gotten her, if she needed to leave the apartment for some reason, and how she should bring one of the men with her at all times if she did go out. 

Apparently he could tell that she was about to argue, because before she could get a word out, he had silenced her with a finger to her lips, and a pleading look. 

“Please?” he had said. 

Felicity sighed and sunk a little deeper into the tub. She didn’t like to think that she couldn’t resist a plea from this man – but he had looked so worried that she just couldn’t object to his request. 

Besides, she told herself. It was only good common sense to do as he asked. She had no desire to get snatched up by the people chasing her, so it was really in her own interest to take safety precautions. 

As soon as Oliver had left, she had forgotten all about the men outside the door, and the men searching for her out in the city. She had been in front of the computer within seconds, typing furiously, searching for information, collecting data and running analyzing algorithms, hoping to discover that little piece of information that could lead to either taking down the bad guys or clearing her name – and preferably both!

She had lost track of time, completely absorbed in her work. 

When she’d finally looked up it was dark outside. Her body had felt stiff from being stuck in the same position for hours, and her stomach had told her in no uncertain terms that it was time to take a break. 

She’d wondered briefly what Oliver was doing, feeling a faint flutter of worry that she hadn’t heard from him in hours. But he was probably just preoccupied – like she had been - she’d reassured herself.

But when she still hadn’t heard from him after a quick meal of a sandwich, made from supplies she found in his fridge, she started to get really worried. 

The burner phone he had left her was supposed to be for emergency use, so she had been reluctant to call him. After all, she didn’t really have an emergency, and given their still uncertain relationship-status she hadn’t felt like she had a right to ask him to check in with her. 

She had paced in frustration for a few minutes and had just decided to screw propriety and call him anyway, when there was a knock on the door. 

She’d flown to the hall, and peeped out the door spy. One of the Ninjas had been standing at the door, patiently waiting for her to open. 

“Yes?” she’d said hesitantly as she opened the door at a crack. 

“Sorry to bother you Miss Smoak,” the man had said. “Mr. Queen just called and asked us to let you know that he is running a bit late. He should be back in about an hour.” The man stepped back, clearly expecting her to shut the door now that he had delivered his message. 

She had stared at him in disbelief and consternation for a second, but realizing that she would get no more information from him, she had closed the door quietly to process in private.

“Well, Mr. Queen better not be expecting Miss Smoak to be breathlessly awaiting his return,” she’d mumbled angrily to herself. What was that about? Why didn’t he just call her himself? Why did he have his minions deliver messages to her? Who did that? 

She had worked herself into a pretty formidable rage, deliberately tamping down the part of her that was happily relieved to know that he was all right. 

But after a few minutes of stalking around the apartment, muttering angrily to herself, she had decided to just let it go, and not waste any more energy on his bad manners. 

Instead she had decided to treat herself to a much-needed pampering session, featuring the massive tub in the master bathroom, lots of hot water and fragrant bubbles. 

Now, shuffling into a more relaxed position, Felicity scooped up a handful of bubbles, and blew them into the air, watching in satisfaction as the light broke in a rainbow of colors off the tiny bubbles floating in the air.

She felt much more serene, and deliciously relaxed. Her tired muscles were practically singing from the soothing hot water and her senses were being lulled by the dim light and the light, lavender and citrus scent of the bubble bath. 

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the cool rim of the tub again. Just another half hour and she’d be as loose-limbed and relaxed as a newborn she figured. 

And that’s when the door flew open and a determined-looking and noticeably shirtless Oliver marched in. 

***

“Oliver!” she yelped, reflexively sitting up straight, water sloshing over the low side of the tub at her abrupt movement. 

His amused but unapologetically, all-male stare made her feel self-conscious and exposed. So she immediately ducked down again, letting the water and bubbles cover her up to her neck, sending more water cascading on to the floor in the process. 

“Don’t you knock?” she asked indignantly, trying to muster a modicum of dignity. 

“Felicity, this IS technically my bathroom,” he said with a mischievous grin, clearly enjoying the show. “And I thought you could use a hot drink to calm the nerves after the past few days,” he added, producing a big, steaming mug of something. 

“I made you tea,” he clarified, as he closed the door behind him and moved closer.

“I’m not in the mood for tea - or for company,” she muttered, feeling inexplicably grumpy and wronged somehow.

“Well, how about a backrub then,” he said undeterred and sat down on the edge of the tub. He placed the mug on the floor in a safe distance from the soapy water and turned to grab the washcloth off the shelf where she had put it. 

“Oliver!” she hissed as he reached out and cupped her neck to pull her towards him. “What are you doing?”

“I thought I’d give you a hand and wash your back,” he said in a lighthearted tone as if it was the most innocent thing in the world. 

But the movement also brought her into very close proximity of his naked chest. His very muscular, naked chest, with that strange tattoo just millimeters from her face. She tried to look away, but only managed to stare at his mouth in stead, hovering just out of reach. She licked her lips nervously, and tried to turn her head. But his grip on her neck wouldn’t allow her to look away, and her eyes darted up to meet his. 

“I’m angry with you,” she blurted out without thinking. “And don’t think that everything will be all right just because you waltz in here, bringing me tea, looking all hot and naked and…” 

“You think I look hot?” he asked with a ridiculously pleased grin. 

“Stop being cute when I’m trying to fight with you,” she snapped, feeling that traitorous blush creeping up her neck. 

“Okay,” her said, leaning back a bit, but without moving the hand cupping her neck. His fingers began a slow, mesmerizing massage of the muscles in her neck, making her close her eyes briefly.

“Why are you angry with me then?” he asked pleasantly, as if they were making ordinary small talk, not cooped up more or less naked in a steamy, dimly lit bathroom.

“Hmmm…?” she managed, as his voice tore her from the pleasure of the massage. 

“You’re angry with me?” he repeated patiently. “Why is that?”

“You didn’t call,” she said. “I mean, you didn’t call ME,” she clarified. “And I was worried. It had been hours. I didn’t know where you were or if anything had happened to you.” She glared at him again. “I didn’t like it!” she paused for breath.   
“And I thought we agreed that we were in this together!” she finished as an afterthought. 

Oliver was quiet for a moment, seriously studying her face. 

“I’m sorry if I made you worry,” he said, and oddly pleased note to his voice. “I didn’t think about that. I mean, you’re the one in danger – not me. But you’re right. I should have let you know what was going on.”

“Why did you call the Ninjas in stead of just calling me?” she asked somewhat mollified by his simple apology. 

“The Ninjas?” he laughed out loud at that. “Well, I just didn’t want to take any chances of anyone finding out that you’re with me. I don’t think any of our phones are bugged or anything, but I just figured I’d play it safe and use the more ‘analogue’ means of communications right out-side the door,” he explained with a shrug. 

“Huh!” she said, suddenly feeling silly. “I guess that makes sense – in a totally paranoid kind of way.” She sighed and leaned back into his touch.

“I’m sorry if I overreacted a bit,” she added. “I guess all of this,” she waved her hand vaguely in the air, “is just a bit much.” 

“I like that you tell me what you’re thinking Felicity,” he said, his voice taking on a more intimate note as his fingers slowly slid down her neck, moving to her shoulder, continuing the soothing, rubbing motion. 

“So what were you doing?” she said, pulling herself out of the pleasurable haze with an effort. 

“Huh?” he mumbled, completely focused on the candlelight dancing on her wet skin, and the rapidly disappearing bubbles.

“Since, you got back so late – what were the two of you doing?” Her voice sounded odd, she noticed. Husky.

“Oh! Nothing really,” he said. “After we updated each other on everything we just did a bit of sparring in the gym – worked off a little steam…” he trailed off.

Then his eyes zeroed in on her with renewed purpose. 

“So,” he said hopefully, “I could really use a bath…” 

She looked up at him through her lashes, a small, playful smile on her lips as she leaned closer and put her lips to his ear.

“Then get in the tub, Oliver,” she whispered.


	15. 'Girlfriend'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity are settling into a form of domestic life now that they're back in the city and forced by circumstances to live together. 
> 
> Things are bit strained since they still haven't talked about what is going on between them - in fact they find it a lot easier to just lose themselves in the chemistry between them than to talk! - but other people are starting to notice, pushing them to come out of their cocoon and face up to reality.
> 
> And of course there's that pesky little problem of Felicity's that needs to be dealt with!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, last up-date this year!
> 
> Once again - thank you so much to everyone who took the time to comment - I love hearing what you think :-)
> 
> I'm still a little lost in their domestic life - there are some wrinkles I need them to work out, so bear with me please... action will pick up in the next chapter - I promise!!!
> 
> Happy New year everybody <3 <3 <3

“Hello? Ollie? Are you here?” Thea poked her head around the partition separating the hall from the living room. 

The apartment lay quiet in the early morning light, no movement indicating that anyone was home. But the men out front hadn’t protested when she entered. Not that they would. She was on the approved-list, and could enter her brother’s apartment at any time, she knew. 

She’d never seen it so heavily guarded before though...

“Hey big brother,” she called out. “What’s up with all the extra man power out there?” She crossed the living room and headed towards the short corridor leading to the master bedroom. 

“Whatever you’re guarding must be a matter of national security to warrant this amount of muscle,” she sniggered, knowing first hand her brother’s aptitude to go overboard on security-measures whenever he was worried about something. 

“Ollie?” she called out again, dumping her purse on the small end table next to the couch. She was starting to feel a little annoyed.   
“Where are…?” She stopped mid-sentence as a disheveled blonde, in pink pajama bottoms and a white, lace-trimmed tank top appeared in the door to the master bedroom.

“Felicity!” she exclaimed, the thought of what she might just have walked in on momentarily throwing her off balance. 

She watched in bemusement, as Felicity’s mouth formed a perfectly round “Oh!” and her hand flew to her hair, trying to smooth it a bit. 

“Thea! The other woman yelped in surprise. Then she muttered something in an aside. It sounded like ‘What is it with you Queens and knocking?’ Thea thought, but she quickly dismissed it with a shrug. 

Felicity glanced at her from under the blonde haystack with a self-conscious expression, and pink cheeks. 

“I…err…I can explain,” she stammered, pushing her glasses up her nose.   
“This isn’t what it looks like...” She gestured vaguely at the bedroom door behind her.   
“I mean…well, yes, I guess it totally is what it looks like…”she blabbered on.   
“Except it really isn’t,” she added hastily. 

Thea crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the back of the couch, a small, amused smile playing on her lips.   
She watched the befuddled blonde with rising hilarity, deciding that this was so much better than just cornering her brother about progress on his investigation of her case.

“It’s...it’s just that …well…” Felicity stumbled on when Thea still didn’t say anything. 

“You see, there are some really, really scary men after me, and they know where I live so it’s not safe for me to go home, and then Oliver offered that I could stay here… with him… to be safe until we can fix it… and because, you know, he has security and…” Felicity abruptly stopped her own flow of words, probably worried that she would accidentally blurt out something really interesting, Thea figured with regret. 

Felicity bit her lip, and let her gaze drop to her toes peeping out from under the hem of her pink pajama pants. 

“So,” Thea said with barely concealed amusement. “My big brother is crashing in the guest room and leaving you the use of the master bedroom? How uncharacteristically noble of him!” she commented drily. 

“Ah!... yeah, no, not exactly” Felicity mumbled, turning an even darker shade of pink. 

Thea looked her over for a moment, trying hard not to laugh out loud at the other woman’s obvious – but completely unnecessary - discomfort. 

“That’s… sort of what I meant by this being exactly what it looks like…” Felicity trailed off, her voice barely a whisper. She was fidgeting and twisting the hem of her white tank top between her fingers.   
“Oh God!” she exclaimed, squeezing her eyes shut, as she realized what she’d just said.   
“I shouldn’t have said that. I really shouldn’t have said that. Was that awkward? Yes, it was awkward. He’s your brother. I’m so sorry – can we please start over?” she babbled on, only stopping when she realized that Thea was doubled over with laughter. 

“Relax Felicity,” Thea said with a huge smile. “It takes more to shake me, believe me. It’s hardly the first time I’ve come face to face with one of my brother’s girlfriends sneaking out of his room in the morning,” she finished with another round of giggles. 

“Oh!” Felicity said, with an uncertain expression on her face. 

“But this is the first time it’s someone I actually like,” Thea added with a warm smile. 

“Oh!” Felicity said again, this time with a small smile.   
“Thanks, I guess…” she added. She blinked a little owlishly at Thea, before breaking out in slightly bigger, though still tentative smile.

“So…uhm…coffee?” she asked.

“I thought you’d never ask!” Thea smiled and pushed off the couch. 

She closed the distance between them and linked her arm through Felicity’s, and started leading her towards the kitchen. “You and I clearly have lots to discuss!”

***

Felicity was reeling. She wasn’t entirely sure whether she was more disturbed by Thea’s easy assumption that she was her brother’s girlfriend, or the fact that seeing strange girls exiting Oliver’s bedroom apparently wasn’t a novelty to his sister. 

Either way, she decided, she desperately needed some coffee in her before she got into any kind of discussion with the younger Queen sibling. 

She stifled a yawn, and tried to shift some of the cobwebs in her brain. She hadn’t had much sleep last night, and she was very aware that she wasn’t working on all cylinders this morning. 

It was all Oliver’s fault of course. After he had joined her in the tub, things had gotten messy…she blushed again as the events of last night replayed on her inner movie screen. 

He really did have an unparalleled sense of balance, she remembered dreamily, as she drifted to the kitchen, tuning out Thea’s easy chatter. 

In fact, she was pretty sure his impressive equilibrium was the only thing that had saved them both from drowning last night. But even so, their acrobatics in the rapidly cooling bathwater had flooded the bathroom, and he had soon suggested that they warm up under the hot shower…

Felicity sighed happily, earning her a curious glance from Thea. She picked up the pace and entered the kitchen a few steps ahead of Oliver’s sister.

The shower had been hot, and wet and steamy, and had lasted a very, long time. And it had in turn led to bed…but not to much sleep. 

A small giggle escaped her at the thought of the playful Oliver she had seen last night. There had been some talking too, sure, but not much. In fact, she made a mental note to make sure they sat down for a real talk later today… 

“So where is my brother?” Thea interrupted her reverie, casually hopping onto one of the high stools at the breakfast bar. 

“He had an early meeting with a client”, Felicity said, her back turned as she went to work getting the coffee on. 

She was still feeling a little blind-sided by Thea’s unexpected appearance – especially the fact that the other woman had practically caught her rolling out of her brother’s bed! Felicity shuddered at the awkwardness of it all. 

On top of that, she couldn’t quite shake the guilty feeling she got every time she looked at Thea’s smiling face, knowing that she had planted that piece of spyware on the younger woman’s phone without her knowledge. She just prayed to God Thea hadn’t discovered it!

As a result, she felt vulnerable and in need of some kind of armor between her bed-headed, pajama-clad self and Thea’s elfin frame – the girl was as always elegantly casual, in ankle length skinny jeans, high heeled ankle boots and a lose fitting, thin, knit top, that draped itself perfectly around her. 

Felicity quickly scooted to the other side of the counter, making sure to keep plenty of distance and lots of appliances between herself and Oliver’s sister as she prepped the coffee maker. 

While the percolator did its thing, she busied herself hunting for cups, milk and sugar. She could feel the other woman’s eyes on her as she moved around the kitchen, and she desperately searched for something to say. 

What was appropriate conversation under the circumstances? Did you just ignore the elephant in the room? Talk about the weather? Could she ask about those other women Thea had mentioned? She really wanted to, she realized, but immediately dismissed the thought as far to obvious and desperate. She had some pride after all. 

“So how long have this been going on? The two of you together, I mean?” Thea asked, with happy curiosity. “I thought you two looked cozy that day at my apartment, but I wasn’t really sure anything was going on…?” she chattered on, apparently not finding the topic the least bit embarrassing. 

“Err…well, it’s kind of a new thing…early days…you know…” Felicity trailed off, not really sure how to talk to Thea about it. 

‘Especially since you haven’t actually talked to Oliver about it yet!’ that voice in the back of her head helpfully pointed out. She almost huffed out loud in irritation. 

“I mean, we work together…technically he’s my boss…we haven’t quite gotten around to…it’s a little complicated…” With a helpless shrug, Felicity gave up on explaining and settled for pouring the coffee. 

“But what brings you here so early?” she asked instead, hoping to divert the other woman off the topic of herself and Oliver. 

“It’s not that early Felicity,” Thea laughed. “It’s almost 10! But I guess my brother must have thought you needed your sleep…?” Thea winked mischievously, clearly not bothered with subtlety. 

Felicity felt herself turn red again, and she quickly sipped from her cup, while Thea’s laugh tinkled in her ears. 

“I’m sorry Felicity,” Thea giggled without remorse, patting her arm reassuringly.   
“I’m just so thrilled that the two of you have gotten together,” she gushed, jumping up and rushing around the counter to give Felicity a hug.   
“My big bro finally got a good one,” she sang into Felicity’s ear. 

It was impossible not to smile, Felicity discovered, as Oliver’s sister did a little happy dance on the spot. 

“I’ll be sure to tell him that he better not mess this up,” Thea continued casually as she repositioned herself on the stool. “You’re exactly what he needs,” she stated, nodding knowingly, in a way that almost made Felicity laugh. 

Suddenly sobering up a bit Thea looked at her very earnestly. “I really hope you’ll give him a chance,” she said, giving Felicity a penetrating look. “He hasn’t had much luck in that department.” 

Felicity felt like she should somehow object to Thea’s assumptions, but she didn’t get a word in before Thea continued.

“I mean,” Thea was saying, “he’s great, obviously, but I know he can seem a little of stand-offish at times. He doesn’t let people in easily, and he has an over-protective streak the size of the Sahara...” Thea rolled her eyes in exasperation. 

“Tell me about it,” Felicity mumbled. 

“But he really is a good guy,” Thea continued, nodding sagely to herself. “Loyal, caring, annoyingly self-sacrificing when it comes to the people he loves – and he’s not bad-looking, I guess.” Thea shrugged.

Felicity couldn’t stop herself from laughing out loud at that.

“You’re starting to sound like a personal add on his behalf,” she giggled.  
“But considering where you found me this morning I’d say the sales pitch is kind of moot.” She winked at Thea and slurped some more coffee, hoping to end that line of talk before she gave in to temptation, and started interrogating Oliver’s sister in great detail about him.

Thea looked taken a back for a moment, then she started laughing. 

“Yeah, I guess the two of you are doing just fine without my help,” she said, actually sporting a hint of a blush, Felicity noticed with satisfaction. 

“So, back to you,” Felicity said in a more businesslike tone. 

“What did you want to talk to Oliver about? Is there anything I can help you with?” she continued, effectively steering the conversation away from herself. 

 

***  
Oliver was having a bad day! 

It hadn’t started that way, admittedly, but it was rapidly going downhill.

He had woken up early with a still sleeping Felicity curled up against him, all warm and soft and just where she needed to be. He smiled at the memory of how she had felt pressed closed against him in the semi-darkness of his bedroom, as he slowly came fully awake. 

It had been difficult to leave the bed – to leave her – but he’d had an early meeting to get to, so he had slid out of bed, careful not to disturb her. She had still been sleeping when he let himself out of the apartment fifteen minutes later.

He sighed, and checked for traffic before he jogged across the busy downtown street, to get to the office building where he was meeting his next client. 

He had known that he would have to divide his time between his existing clients and helping Felicity. He had a business to run after all, and obligations. But he hadn’t been prepared for the resentment he felt, wasting time on his day-to-day cases, when he could be digging into the circumstances surrounding the hack that got her in trouble. 

He had never felt this sense of urgency about any investigation before. He wanted this thing solved! He wanted to take down those cyber bullies and get the FBI the evidence they needed. 

And not because he was worried he couldn’t keep her safe. He was confident he could do that. 

But he wanted them all off her back once and for all, so she could stop worrying about dodging bullets and focus on what was important: The two of them, and what was happening between them. 

Oliver grimaced as he pushed through the glossy, wood-paneled doors to the old-fashioned office building. It was one of the original buildings of this city - part of the city’s heritage - and the company residing here was almost as old. 

They were good clients, and since his first case for them, they had been sending more work his way on a regular basis. He couldn’t afford to neglect them. 

But today he had to make an effort to even remember what he was investigating for them. All he could think about was what Dig and Felicity might be uncovering while he was working, and how soon he could get the three of them together to form a working strategy. 

An hour later Oliver was back on the street, this time headed for the financial district. His next appointment was in half an hour – just enough time to get there he figured, but he really needed to check in with the guy he had monitoring Thea’s phone. 

He slowly walked towards his car as he placed the call. A truck lumbered by in the street drowning out what his man was saying on the phone. While he waited for the truck to pass Oliver briefly wondered what the odds were of all of these things happening at the same time, to the same guy - Felicity, his sister, the RoboMed case that just didn’t seem to want to get cracked… 

The truck passed and he forgot about it, as he got the rest of the up-date from his man. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened in his sister’s life the past two days at least it seemed. That was a relief. 

He hurried the rest of the way to his car, and continued to the next of a series of meetings.  
By the time he was done, and made it back across town to his own apartment, it was almost six o’clock. 

He was feeling unreasonably grumpy from having wasted an entire day – at least that’s how it felt to him - but the minute he entered the elevator in the parking basement of his building, he felt his spirits lift. 

She would be waiting for him up-stairs, and they could spend the evening going through what they knew, plotting what to do next, moving on with their lives…

With a soft ‘ding’ the elevator deposited him in the empty corridor leading to his apartment. 

Nothing looked out of the ordinary he noticed, as he passed his neighbor’s door in the hall.   
He rounded the corner to his end of the building and saw with satisfaction that his men were in place, right where they were supposed to be. 

He greeted them briefly and got a quick report about the comings and goings of the day. Nothing to note, except a visit from his sister that morning, it seemed. 

Oliver entered the apartment, and quietly closed the door, automatically setting the alarm. 

He was acutely aware that he was both excited and anxious to see her. Impatiently, he kicked his shoes off in the hall, flung his coat over the nearest chair, and dumped his notebook on top of it. Then he went in search for her. 

The living room was dark, only lit by the lights from the city outside. He cast a quick glance into the bedroom, but it too was dark and quiet. 

He was just about to head into the study when he heard the noise. It was coming from the kitchen he thought.

He crossed back through the living room, making no sound as he followed the noise. He rounded the corner to the kitchen area, and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before him. 

Felicity was at the counter, her back turned to him. She clearly hadn’t noticed him yet, busy as she was chopping. 

In fact, she was elbow deep in chopped vegetables. Piles of them! Carrots, celery stalks, squash, cucumbers – he even thought he spotted some mangled asparagus and mushrooms in there somewhere. 

He was briefly sidetracked by the odd mixture of ingredients. The pile of chopped greens didn’t really reveal much about what she was cooking – not any dish he was familiar with certainly. But whatever it was, she was making plenty!

Oliver felt a smile creep over his face as he watched her working away with single-minded determination. She was completely focused on her task, chopping away, not with particularly practiced moves perhaps, but with gusto!

She was wearing tightfitting black yoga pants and some sort of lose-fitting red t-shirt that kept falling off one shoulder as she worked. The pants did interesting things to that delectable derriere of hers when she moved, he noticed distractedly. 

She was barefoot and her hair was caught up in that high ponytail he liked. It was swinging in tune with her chopping motions. She was softly mumbling to herself as she moved along the counter, picked up a vegetable, brought it back to the chopping board and started chopping again. 

“Felicity,” he said softly, trying not to startle her. 

“Oliver!” she yelped, jumping back from her latest victim on the chopping board with a funny look on her face. 

“Hi!” he smiled, and stepped closer. “How was you day?” he asked, leaning in for kiss.

“I…busy! I’ve been busy,” she said, giving him a quick peck on the lips before turning back to her chopping.

“And you?” she shot back at him over her shoulder. 

He studied her for a moment. She was in a mood. That much was clear to him. He just wasn’t sure if it was over something he had done, or if something had happened while he was away. 

He pulled up a stool at the breakfast bar and sat down while he gave her the highlights of his day. 

Felicity kept chopping. 

“So, tell me about your day,” he finally said, hoping to get her to talk about what was clearly bothering her. 

***

Felicity hadn’t been able to get it out of her head. All day long while she tried to concentrate on work, on analyzing data, on her beloved computers, it kept turning over and over in her head. 

What Thea had said about Oliver and nameless girls exiting his bedroom in the morning. 

It wasn’t that she was worried that he was seeing someone else right now, was it? She’d tried to reason with herself. How could he be? He was always busy and she knew where he was at all times. Mostly. 

Besides, they hadn’t exactly made each other any promises…. 

But there was just something about the way Thea had said it…like it was normal for him to have women… strangers… pass through his life. And it made her wonder if…if maybe she was just passing through too?

She had kept busy, trying to drown out the nagging little insecurities in the back of her head, with follow-up on their normal cases. 

She had even called Barry to see if he had gotten any new results from his comparative tests on the drugs. Talking to him at least took her mind off Oliver for a while, and she happily agreed to go and see him at the lab the next day. 

But she couldn’t concentrate on her own work, and at five she had finally given up, deciding to try exercise. She had pulled on her yoga pants and a t-shirt, tied her hair back and located an on-line work-out session. 

Ten minutes in she’d had to admit defeat. Not even the peppy instructor’s voice had been enough to stop the thoughts churning. 

With an odd sense of shock she had realized, that over the course of the past few days, her entire focus had shifted. Her problems – serious as they were – suddenly no longer took first place. 

Somehow - she couldn’t quite explain it, but somehow - Oliver and this thing that was growing between them, had become infinitely more important. She had gotten so caught up in her own temporary bliss that she had all but forgotten to be scared about her past. And now Thea had made her worry that she was misreading this…’thing’. 

Which could absolutely happen, she reminded herself miserably, since she hadn’t had the guts to tell him how she felt. 

She had drifted aimlessly through the apartment for a while, until finally ending up in Oliver’s spacious, stainless steel-and-black-tile kitchen. She had opened the doublewide fridge, not really hungry, but restless and in need of something to do. 

She’d noticed the well-stocked crisper at the bottom of the fridge and without much thought, she had started pulling out vegetables, found a chopping board, and set to work, trying to drown out her thoughts with action.

And it had been working for a while…

But now Oliver was back, acting all normal and boyfriend-like, and she was being a freak! 

Felicity took a deep breath, and with an effort, turned to face him as she answered his question. 

“Your sister stopped by this morning,” she said, waving the knife in the air. 

“Oh? What did she want?” he asked, eyeing the knife apprehensively. 

“She wanted to know if we’d made progress on her case – the drugs…”Felicity hesitated.   
“She pretty much caught me still in bed,” she confessed, popping a piece of carrot into her mouth to cover the fact that she was feeling a little insecure. 

“Oh?” he said, his eyes lingering on her lips for a moment. 

“Oh!” he added, as understanding dawned.

“Yes, and you should probably know that she sort of made assumptions…about us…” Felicity continued, grabbing another carrot and decisively cutting into it.   
“Just, you know, in case she mentions anything to you...” she trailed off uncertainly, the chopping slowing down as she glanced at Oliver. 

“She thinks I’m your girlfriend,” she said, looking away from him again.

“Okay,” he said calmly. “And what did you say to that?”

“Me? Oh! Nothing really…” Felicity looked up, a little flustered. “I didn’t really know what to say…”

“Do you mind?” he asked, looking at her searchingly. 

“Huh? Oh! No... No, I don’t mind,” she said quickly, busying herself with the carrot once again. 

“Okay then,” Oliver said, as if that was a satisfactory end to that discussion.

Felicity deliberated for a minute in silence whether or not to press the subject. The knife sliced through the carrot with a satisfying ‘crunch’. She reached blindly for the next vegetable in the pile. 

“She did say something else too,” she heard herself saying instead, as she started cutting into the head of lettuce she’d grabbed, all the while kicking herself for not being able to hold her tongue. 

“She mentioned that she was used to seeing girls exiting your bedroom in the morning.” She said, abandoning the lettuce and opening the fridge to look for better things to chop.

Behind her Oliver was silent.

“So…just out of curiosity,” she continued, in what she hoped was a casual tone. “Just how many girls are we talking about here? You now, just a ball-park figure?” She slammed the door to the fridge, giving up on finding new things to chop.

“Felicity,” he said carefully, clearly bewildered by her mood. “Whatever girls Thea was referring to… that was a really, really long time ago. I mean, way before my Navy days.” He shrugged. 

“You know how it is when you’re young and stupid, and …” he shrugged. “I’ve done my share of careless, insensitive things, but what… Felicity, would you please put down the knife?” he interrupted himself, with a concerned look at the blade she was still wielding. 

She looked at the knife in her hand, mildly surprised to find that it was still there. Then she put it on the countertop and folded her arms over her chest, awaiting his explanation. 

“Thank you,” he said, and seemed to relax a bit now that she was no longer armed. 

“Like I said, that was a long time ago and I was a different person back then. Why are you asking about this? What did Thea say” He looked at her with open curiosity. 

Then something seemed to occur to him.

“Wait a minute…Felicity?” he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Are you…? Are you jealous?” he asked, not even trying to hide his apparent delight at the idea.

“What? No!” she snapped.   
“Of course not! I mean… maybe? A little…” she trailed off trying to look everywhere but at him.

“Felicity?” he asked slowly, unable to hide the smile in his voice. She heard him get up and move around the counter towards her. 

She tried to stay aloof, but when she finally looked at him, the warmth in his gaze immediately knocked all thought out of her head and turned her knees to jelly. She felt a lump form in her throat and had to look away, inexplicably emotional all of a sudden. 

“You’re really cute when you’re jealous, you know that?” he laughed, but with a warmth that took away the sting and enveloped her completely, creating an intimate little cocoon around the two of them. 

“Cute!” she spluttered, trying to muster a little indignation.

But before she could work up a decent retort, his arms were reaching out, snaking around her, reeling her in slowly, filling her senses with his touch, his scent…

It wasn’t fair, her brain weekly protested, that he should have that kind of effect on her. 

But then she stopped thinking all together as he bent his head and pressed a line of small, butterfly-light kisses from the corner of her mouth, along her bottom lip, slowly tracing back and forth, until she opened her lips for him with a sigh. 

“I was…just…curious…” she whispered against his lips, sliding her hands into his hair, and leaning back against the counter as he pushed closer. 

“Uh-huh...” he mumbled into her mouth, deepening the kiss. His hand came up to play with her ponytail, lightly tugging at it. She let her head fall back, and felt a series of shivers running down her spine as his mouth trailed a line a hot kisses down her exposed throat. 

“What are you cooking, Felicity?” she heard him mumble against the hollow at the base of her throat. 

“Wh…what?” she stammered not comprehending. 

“Will it keep?” he asked, lifting his head to catch her eyes. The smoldering heat in his eyes made her gasp, and she nodded. 

“I’m not…” she said, as he leaned in close again, lightly biting her left earlobe, before pulling it into his mouth, making her dizzy with pleasure. “Not cooking anything,” she finally managed to say. “Just chopping...”

She let her hands roam over his shoulders, feeling like she was going to melt into a puddle right there on the kitchen floor. 

Oliver lifted his head and leaned his forehead against hers, looking into her eyes.

“Come again?” he said, his voice hoarse, and trembling slightly, she noticed with satisfaction. Good to know that she wasn’t the only one affected by the physical contact, she thought. 

“I was just chopping…stuff.” She repeated, sliding her nose up the length of his, breathing him in. 

“What…why?” he mumbled, confused, but easily distracted by what her hands were doing to his shirt. 

“Frustration…” she whispered, finally slipping her hands inside his now open shirt, sliding them over tight abs, relishing the shivers she felt running through him, as her hands travelled up. 

“Oh?” he mumbled, as he helped her push the fabric off his shoulders, and down his arms, letting it drop to the floor. “Did it help?” he asked into her mouth as he pulled her back in his arms, finding her lips again. 

Felicity’s arms circled his neck, as she sucked his lower lip into her mouth, almost forgetting the question. 

“Don’t know…” she breathed between kisses. “You interrupted me…”

“Do you want me to leave?” he mumbled hoarsely into her ear, lifting her easily to sit on the counter, not leaving any space between them.

“Absolutely not!” she whispered, using her legs to pull him closer still.


	16. Grey Areas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver is finally ready to let Felicity into his world and reveal what he and Dig are doing. Almost. There are still things he hasn't told her. 
> 
> Felicity is determined to get to the bottom of it, and is ready to wait him out - mostly. 
> 
> At the same time their personal relationship is still undetermined - at least Felicity isn't sure what to think, and is scared to get her hopes up and get too attached.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, sorry, sorry for the delay.
> 
> I've struggled a lot with this chapter and actually re-wrote it four times...and I'm still not happy with it. Yuck! 
> 
> But I think it's time to move on with the story, so I've decided to post it as it is now - so I can get to the parts I'm itching to write :-)
> 
> So there!

Oliver draped the towel loosely around his neck and walked into the big, but mostly empty, walk-in closet. He grabbed a pair of faded, well-worn jeans, hanging over the back of a chair, and pulled them on. 

His clothes only took up a corner of the big closet. His years in the navy had taught him to scrape away unnecessary clutter, and he had found he didn’t need much: a few suits for business and events, jeans, t-shirts and sweaters for fieldwork and casual wear. All of it arranged with military precision. 

Felicity’s things – the few items that he’d had brought here – were bright splashes of color against the muted greys, blues and whites of his clothes. It looked…nice, he decided. 

He reached for a grey, knit, zip-up hoodie from a shelf with piles of neatly stacked t-shirts and sweatshirts. 

Hoodie in hand, he left the closet and padded barefoot out of the master bedroom towards the living room. Noiselessly he entered the room, pulling on the sweater, but leaving it un-zipped as he cooled down after his shower. 

A modern, stone-and-glass encased gas-fire provided enough light to navigate the living room, without turning on lights. The fireplace was more decorative then functional, but the flickering light from the flames added a nice ambience. A single lamp behind the couch had been lit, and cast a golden circle of light over the couch. 

He stood for a moment, hands on hips, and took in the view through the big panoramic windows. The city by night was beautiful, all spread out below in glittering, multicolored, lights. All the noise and chaos, all the people and their dramas, worries and concerns, the cars honking their horns, the crime and grime, the splendor and riches – none of it was visible from this distance. From up here it was just a beautiful, sparkling landscape of lights. He found it soothing sometimes to just stand there and look at it. It was like looking at an abstract painting. 

A soft noise from behind made him turn around. 

She sat curled up on the couch, in the small pool of golden light from the lamp behind her. She was reading something on her tablet. Steam rose in languid tendrils from a mug clasped between her hands. She seemed oblivious to her surroundings. 

He watched her in silence for a little while, for a rare moment feeling at peace with the world.

Her hair, still damp from the shower, fell in dark-golden waves over her shoulders. She had pushed the sleeves of her blue kimono up, revealing the small wound on her elbow from when she fell a few days ago. It was almost healed, but the sight of it was like an unwelcome reminder to him. He involuntarily took a step towards her. 

His sudden movement must have alerted her to his presence, because she looked up and caught him staring at the small wound. She frowned, and wordlessly pushed the sleeve down to cover it up again. 

She had obviously had enough of being babied, he thought, unable to hide a small smile. It surprised him how much he liked that he knew her well enough to know that. 

She shifted on the couch, to make room for him. The movement made the kimono fall open for a second. An expanse of long, toned legs was displayed as she re-positioned herself. Then she pulled the kimono tight around her again. 

He suppressed a sigh of regret, and let his eyes roam over her reclining form. Softly backlit by the lamp, while the flickering lights from the fire licked over her front, she looked both angelic and unbelievably desirable at the same time. 

His gaze finally settled on her face. Free from make-up, and with a slight, rosy tint in her cheeks. She was beautiful – and in spite of the passion he knew was in her - so innocent. 

Too innocent, he thought with a sharp pang of worry. The feeling of calm contentment was gone in an instant. His mind was suddenly racing again, as he questioned his decision to expose her to the realities of his life.

What was he doing? He had no business dragging her into his world. She didn’t need to know about the things he knew. She didn’t have to be endangered and tainted by the things that he saw and the things he did. She had enough on her plate as it was. She didn’t need the added burden of his world too. 

“Oliver?” she said, obviously noticing his rapidly changing emotions. 

The look she gave him was knowing. It was like she was reading his mind and listening to his inner debate. She arched an eyebrow in an unspoken challenge and patted the couch next to her. 

He held her gaze for a moment. Then he nodded slowly in silent acquiescence. 

As he approached the couch, her gaze slowly slid from his eyes, down over his chest, and lower still. The tip of her tongue darted out to lick her bottom lip, and when she lifted her eyes to meet his again, hers looked darker. 

“You should zip up that sweater,” she said, her voice low and husky. “You promised we would talk,” she added, looking at his bare chest meaningfully. 

He couldn’t help the grin that spread over his face at her obvious appreciation, but he obediently zipped up the hoodie, and flung the damp towel on the low table, before sitting down next to her. 

“We will,” he said, taking her hand. 

***

The heavy metal door opened on well-oiled hinges without a sound. Daylight spilled into the cave-like interior of the warehouse, but not enough to light up the room beyond a few meters.   
The door started swinging shut, and the darkness seemed to swallow them up, as they moved further into the cavernous room. 

She had butterflies in her stomach, Felicity realized in surprise, as she followed close behind Oliver. And not the good kind. Not the kind she got every time he touched her, or whenever he looked at her THAT way. 

No, this was a different kind of jitters. More like ‘first-day-of-school’-nerves. 

She shivered involuntarily, hoping that he’d ascribe it to the chill in the air. She exhaled, making an effort to calm herself down. 

She was very aware of his presence by her side, but she still jumped slightly when his hand brushed lightly down her arm, as he casually grabbed her hand to guide her further into the darkness. 

‘Don’t be an idiot’, she told herself sternly, taking a deep breath. ‘Nothing has changed. He’s still Oliver. This is just the warehouse. You’ve been here before.’ 

But she couldn’t quite shake the feeling that she was about to be initiated into a small, exclusive club, and she desperately wanted to pass the test. 

Which was ridiculous of course, that small, dry, voice in the back of her head informed her. This was no test. Oliver had decided to bring her here, to show her what he and Dig were doing out-side of office hours. He wasn’t about to make her go through hell-week or anything like that. 

“Hey guys,” Dig voice suddenly sounded through the darkness. 

Felicity guiltily snatched her hand out of Oliver’s grasp, not entirely sure how much the big man knew, or how they were supposed to act around him. 

She heard the sharp click of several industrial power switches being flipped, and the humming of fluorescent lights coming on. 

Lights flickered on in several different places at once, illuminating the training area with the hard matt and the strange metal-contraptions that she had once seen Oliver work out on. She was immediately assaulted by a series of vivid mental images of how his body had looked under the hard fluorescent lights, as he had pushed himself through those punishing exercises. 

She felt heat rising up her neck. With an effort she pulled her mind away from the memories and concentrated on what was before her. 

At the far end of the room a number of shelves, storage units and display cases were lit up. A third pool of light fell on the center of the room, where a couple of desks had been pushed together to form a sort of conference table. 

At first glance it all looked pretty inconspicuous, she reflected. Apart from the peculiarity of anyone putting up a gym and a ‘conference-room’ in a warehouse in the first place, of course. 

But there were other areas still cast in darkness and she couldn’t be entirely sure what the big room held beyond the lit up parts. She hadn’t given it much thought on her other trips to the warehouse. There had always been a purpose and a certain sense of urgency to those visits. But today as she took the time to really look and wonder, the dark corners suddenly seemed to mock her and hint at secrets and covert operations. 

Felicity snorted at her own overly active imagination. She was just nervous and excited, she reasoned. Her hyperactive brain was conjuring up ridiculous Batman-like scenarios full of secret gateways and hidden underground lairs. 

Oliver gave her a questioning look, and she quickly turned to study the conference area with feigned curiosity, grateful that mindreading wasn’t one of his talents. 

But her pretense soon turned to actual interest, as she focused a little closer on the parts of their interimistic set-up that made the most sense to her. 

A mess of papers was strewn across the conference table. A lab top sat in the middle, surrounded by empty take-out coffee cups, and – incongruously – a small cardboard box, with pink lettering, announcing its contents to be the ‘Best Cup-Cakes in Town’. The whole area bore signs of long hours of research, planning and theorizing. 

But what caught her attention was the board beside it. It was covered in a complicated looking maze of maps, notes and pictures, with different colored, crisscrossing lines connecting it all. It looked like a mind-map had exploded onto the board, she thought, as her own mind immediately went into problem solving-mode, searching for ways to translate the mess into a computerized overview. 

“So are we all good?” Dig’s deep, pleasant voice came from beyond the training area, interrupting her calculations. She spun around, trying to locate him. The big man strolled casually into the light, a relaxed smile on his face. 

“Hi Felicity,” he said, nodding at her. “Good to see you…here.” His inflection seemed to insinuate the same significance of her presence here that she had felt when entering the warehouse.

Felicity glanced back at Oliver, eyebrows raised in a silent question. 

He gave her a furtive glance, before quickly focusing on Dig again. 

“Felicity and I had a talk last night,” he said, an odd note to his voice. 

“I filled her in on the headlines, but thought it might be better to simply show her the… details,” Oliver continued, glancing at her again. Felicity got the impression that the two men were somehow communicating beyond the words she was hearing. 

“I see. Well, in that case,” Dig said, suddenly looking tense and casting a sidelong speculative glance at her. “I’ll just let you catch her up then.” As if to stress his words, he took a step back and folded his massive arms across his chest, apparently settling in for the wait. 

Yup! She was definitely missing something here, she realized, her spidey-senses going on full alert. 

 

***

Felicity looked between the two men, not sure how to respond to the sudden tension in the room. 

It was obvious that Dig had expected her to be completely in the know since she was here. And it just as clearly made him uncomfortable that she wasn’t. 

Granted, what Oliver had told last night had only scratched the surface – that much had been obvious to her immediately. It had only left her a million new questions that needed answering. But he had assured her that it would be much easier to simply show her what they were doing here at the warehouse. 

At first she had insisted that they go straight away, but, he had reasoned, it was late and they were both exhausted. 

In the end she had agreed to postpone till morning. But now she was starting to think that had been a mistake. What didn’t she know, that was putting Dig on edge like this? 

“So,” she said, trying to sound blasé but feeling rather resentful towards Oliver for keeping her in the dark. “Who’s going to fill in the blanks for me then?”

“I thought we could start out by…” Oliver began. But whatever he was going to say was interrupted by the shrill ringing of his phone. 

He glanced at the display, a frown line appearing between his brows. 

“I just have to take this,” he mumbled already heading away from them into the darkness. 

Feeling very much like she had been caught crashing an ‘invites-only’-party, Felicity turned to Dig, racking her brain for some kind of ice-breaker. 

But the big man no longer looked tense. He gave her a friendly smile, and leaned casually against one of the concrete pillars. 

“So...” he said, waggling his eyebrows meaningfully. “You and Oliver?” 

“What?” Felicity blurted out, completely thrown by the unexpected direction of his question. “No! It’s not like that. We’re just…I’m just…What?” she stammered. 

“You two seem to be getting along,” Dig drawled, a Cheshire smile slowly forming on his face. 

“Mmm…” Felicity said noncommittally, frantically searching for a glimpse of Oliver in the shadows. “Well, you know, I’m staying at his place…for safety reasons,” she added, studiously avoiding Dig’s gaze.

“Right, for safety reasons…” Dig said, his voice full of meaning that she didn’t want to get into.

Thankfully, Dig’s comments were cut short when Oliver suddenly appeared by her side again. He was looking pretty frazzled she realized at a glance. 

“Felicity, I need your help,” he said. “That tracking device you put in Thea’s phone – can you get a lock on it from here?” The urgency in his voice was unmistakable. 

“Sure, as long as I can get online, I’ll be able to locate her,” she said, already fishing in her bag for her tablet. 

Felicity walked to the conference table, busily tapping away. She pushed aside some of the papers without even looking at them, as she set the tablet on the desk and unrolled a flexible keyboard. In seconds she was logged into the tracer, and had a signal from Thea’s phone, pinging off a map.

“Got her,” she said, pointing to the screen. “She’s at this address downtown,” she continued, jutting down the address on a piece of paper that she grabbed randomly from the mess on the table. 

She shoved the paper at Oliver. 

“Thanks,” he mumbled, glancing at the paper. Tension was rolling off him in almost visible waves. Then he abruptly turned on his heel and headed towards the door. 

“Oliver wait!” Dig called after him. “What’s going on? Do you need help? Is Thea in trouble?”

Oliver paused briefly, turning back around to look at them. He was clearly chomping at the bit to get going.

“The guy I had keeping an eye on her lost her,” he said tersely. “She was at her new ‘boyfriend’s place but when the boyfriend left, Thea wasn’t with him, and when my man checked the apartment she wasn’t there either. And the man I had monitoring her calls said there had been no unusual calls in or out. He had nothing. I need to make sure she’s all right.” Oliver didn’t wait for their reply this time. He stalked out of the warehouse, letting the heavy metal door fall shut with a hollow clanging noise. 

“He put a tracer on Thea?” Dig asked her incredulously. “He’s monitoring her calls?”

“Yeah,” she replied feeling a bit sheepish. “He gets a bit over-protective at times...” she trailed off, still not too happy with her own part in the whole sister-surveillance act. 

“You think?” Dig scoffed. “One of these days he’s going to get in so much trouble with her,” he continued. “If she ever finds out…phew!” he said, shaking his head. 

“Yeah, but I understand why he might be worried,” Felicity came to his defense. “I mean, we still don’t know who drugged Thea at the party that night – or why.” 

Dig looked at her speculatively for a moment. 

“No, you’re right,” he said. There was an odd undertone to his voice. 

Just then Felicity’s emergency phone vibrated. She picked up without even looking at the display. Oliver was the only person who knew this number 

“Are you there already?” she asked without preamble. 

“No, I’m not superman,” he said, with a hint of humor, his voice made scratchy from wind, and traffic noise blaring in the background. 

“I just wanted to ask you to get on the coms so I can stay in touch with you once I get there. I might need you to guide me if I can’t locate her straight away. Dig can show you where we keep the equipment.” He disconnected without saying good-bye.

Sensing his urgency, Felicity tried to ignore the sting of his abrupt behavior. He was obviously very worried about Thea. 

But by the time Dig had gotten the equipment and they were up and running, Felicity was beginning to feel a little dazed by the way the day was developing. Was this what their days were usually like? Was this the real Oliver? This strange and closed-off person?

But then she recalled the relative normalcy of the weeks she had spent working with him at the office, while he was investigating his normal cases. She almost missed the boring tasks he’d had her perform back then, she realized with a regretful sigh. Suddenly those days seemed a million miles away. Almost as if they were from a different lifetime. 

“Okay then,” Dig interrupted her thoughts. “While he’s out playing hero, why don’t I begin to fill you in on some of the details here?” 

Felicity nodded, grateful for something to take her mind off Oliver, Thea and her own confused, rambling thoughts. 

“So how much did he tell you?” Dig asked, pushing off the desk he had been leaning on, while she had set up the coms and debated with Oliver how to proceed.

She leaned back in her chair and looked up at Dig. 

“He told me that the two of you are helping the authorities take down a criminal organization that you came across during your time in the navy,” she said. 

Dig nodded but didn’t say anything. 

“He also told me that what you are doing is in a bit of a grey area,” she continued hesitantly. “He said that you were not officially working with any government agency, which is why it’s kept off the books.” 

Dig snorted.

“Yeah, I guess that’s one way of putting it,” he mumbled. Then he sighed, and walked to the board with the cryptic mess of maps and pictures that she had noticed earlier. 

“The short version is, that we’ve been trying to take down an group of international mercenaries – killers for hire if you like.” He looked at her gravely. 

“The catch is that this is no ordinary group of criminals,” he continued in a voice that had gone deadly quiet.   
“They are all former SEALs.” 

Felicity felt chilled to the bone at the look Dig leveled at her. He looked absolutely lethal in that moment. 

“Oliver and I…we know these guys.” Dig paused and looked away. “We served with them. We know how they operate, how they were trained and how they think. And that makes us much better equipped than any of the agencies for taking them down.” 

Felicity bit her lip, as she studied him. She was sure that there was something he wasn’t telling her. 

“Dig, you’re making it sound like you and Oliver are on some kind of vigilante-mission here,” she said, only half joking. 

She had already formed some ideas about what was going on, of course. She wasn’t an idiot. She had been watching Oliver for weeks now, observing little things about him. 

It had come as no big surprise to her when Oliver had revealed last night that what he and Dig were doing was related to their time in the navy. After all, she had done her background search on him, and his navy-years were largely a blank space in her research, due to the confidential nature of the operations he had been part of. 

Added to his reactions when Thea was drugged and when she herself was attacked, the vigilante-theory didn’t seem so far fetched. 

“What? No! No, Felicity,” Dig protested vehemently. “Of course not. We were both SEALs. We’ve served our country and done our duty. No, what we’re doing is…like Oliver said. We’re helping the authorities.” He turned around to look at the board again.

“Look,” he said after a beat. “We don’t do anything illegal.” 

He seemed to think about that statement for a moment, and Felicity decided to just wait him out. 

“Well…not really illegal, anyway,” he added after a beat. 

“All we do is help procure the evidence needed to take down these guys. Oliver’s PI-firm is a pretty convenient cover for that type of activity,” Dig noted with satisfaction. 

“So what if we haven’t actually been asked to do this…It’s not like we’re passing judgement or taking anybody down Robin Hood-style if that’s what you’re thinking.” Dig glared at her as if to dare her to disagree. 

Felicity returned the look but didn’t say anything.

“We just happened to stumble onto something that is wrong and dangerous, and we wanted to help. We don’t go around killing people.” Dig continued. 

“Well, I mean of course we defend ourselves if necessary,” Dig elaborated when she still didn’t comment. “But we don’t set out to hurt anybody.” 

“And let’s face it,” he rambled on. “Oliver and I, we can do things as civilians that aren’t exactly regulation.” He gave her a self-righteous look, as if that completely justified their vigilante-style operation. 

“Except,” Felicity interjected, no longer able to keep quiet. “There are pretty good reasons why there are rules for how the authorities can act and limits to what they are allowed to do. Those rules are for our protection – you and me, and, you know, ordinary people,” she argued.

Dig lifted an eyebrow, and gave her a penetrating look. 

“Sort of like why we have rules that make it illegal to hack someone you mean?” he asked.

Felicity blushed and looked away. 

“Sort of like that, yes…” she mumbled. Then she realized that the big man was teasing her. 

“Look, Felicity,” Dig said, with a sigh. “It’s a bit of a grey area I’ll admit. What we do – it isn’t exactly illegal. I’m sure any number of agencies would disagree with us but mostly it’s just investigation – which is Oliver’s job…and mine when he hires me. He has a license for that you know.” 

“Right,” felicity said, thoughtfully. “I’m sure there’s something in that reasoning that isn’t quite valid, but for now I’m willing to go with it. But what I don’t understand,” she added, “Is why this vendetta is so important to the two of you? Why not just report to the authorities that you know what these people are doing and let them handle the investigation?”

Diggle looked at her for a long moment. 

“I think we’re getting into Oliver-territory,” he finally said. “I’ll leave those explanations to him. But Felicity, I’ll tell you this much – Oliver has his reasons. And as his best friend, I’ll vouch for those reasons. They’re good enough for me to want to help him.” 

Felicity studied Dig’s serious face, trying to gauge the depth of his dedication before finally making her own decision. 

Not that there had really been much doubt about the outcome she silently admitted to herself.   
She was in. Had been for a while, she knew. Even while she suspected something far worse was going on. 

“Okay,” she said, sending the big man a conciliatory smile. “We work in grey areas then.”


	17. Ghosts From the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting tense as Oliver tries to keep an eye on Thea - and it all takes a turn for the worse when they come across a name from the past. 
> 
> In the meantime Felicity is trying to become a member of their investigate team and is increasingly frustrated by the many secrets and ghosts from the past that keep popping up. 
> 
> And on top of it all, Felicity is struggling with the uncertainties of her relationship with Oliver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I know - it's been ages...again...but I'm not giving up on this fic. I'm not!
> 
> It's just that life is happening - a little too much at the moment - leaving me very little time for writing, but I'm trying.
> 
> The good news is, I've actually written a lot of the next couple of chapters already, so I hope to post again within a week (fingers crossed). 
> 
> Hope you still want to read the rest....

To Oliver’s intense surprise the address that Felicity had sent him to, was a typical modern office building in the financial district downtown. The area was an urban jungle of glass, steel and concrete. It was all straight lines and sharp angles in a various shades of grey. The only enlivening factor was the trendy street level coffee-shops and take-out places, serving the multitudes who slaved away in the maze of high-rises that were crowding out the sunlight. 

It was not a place he would have expected his sister to go of her own volition. Thea was far more likely to skip classes to go shopping or café-surfing with her friends, than to spend her morning cooped up with an accountant or a lawyer, or whatever type of professional you were likely to find around here. 

Oliver frowned in concentration and let his eyes roam over the suit-clad men and women hurrying up and down the street. He was hoping to find a clue as to what his sister might be doing in a place like this. That was of course assuming she’d come here willingly, that dry little voice in the back of his head helpfully pointed out. 

The thought left an acidic taste in his mouth, but at the same time made him take a closer look around. Oliver shook his head in wonder as he studied the street and the surrounding buildings. This wasn’t exactly a high crime area. Nothing about the place hinted that anything remotely shady, let alone illegal, was going on. The entire area had that almost sterile feel of high-end, white-collar businesses. In a place like this, littering would stand out like a major felony – it wasn’t exactly a place for conducting hardcore criminal activity – like kidnapping young women. 

After a few minutes he gave up on making sense of it, and returned his attention to the building that Felicity had guided him to. 

The building was all functional and professional. It practically reeked of productivity numbers, growth projections and harassed office workers, trying to get ahead. This time of day the place was buzzing with a kind of single-minded, focused activity, but it would be completely deserted after office hours, he knew. 

He had taken up position in front of a minimalistic coffee-shop across the street from the building. The shop was done up in concrete and glass like its surroundings, but a number of big, square cut, stone basins filled with feathery plants decorated the paved area in front of the store. The stone planters were conveniently placed so that he was able to watch the building from behind them, without being directly in view from the entrance himself. 

Oliver leaned back against the rough surface of the concrete storefront, and tried to get comfortable. He had a cup of take-out coffee in his hand, and tucked under one arm was a copy of a financial magazine that he had no intention of opening. The coffee was long gone, but he held on to the cup as a useful excuse for hanging around. 

He debated with himself what to do next. If he was being honest with himself, he wasn’t entirely sure the situation warranted any kind of action at all. Or even if there was in fact a ‘situation’, his helpful inner voice reminded him. 

All he really knew at this point was that the locator-bug in Thea’s phone placed her at this address, but there could be any number of legitimate reasons for her being here. 

Oliver grimaced. He was becoming increasingly aware that he might have over-reacted just a little, rushing to check up on her like this. He was probably acting like an overbearing, paranoid older brother. But with everything that had happened over the past few weeks, he couldn’t bear to just sit around hoping for the best when his guys lost sight of her. He had to know that she was safe. 

With fresh determination, he mentally slammed the lid on any doubts and took a few more minutes to consider his options. The fingers of his left hand tapped impatiently against the take-out cup as he scanned the street one more time, searching for a sign. 

Finally, with a sigh of frustration, he gave in and connected the coms again. 

“Felicity?” he said gruffly. “I’m going to need your help.”

The sound of static briefly crackled in his ear-piece as she turned on the microphone on her end. 

“What do you need?” her reply sounded directly in his ear. The sound of her voice immediately made him feel a little less grouchy and irritable. He hadn’t really noticed before but there was something very intimate about having her voice in his ear like that. Like she was inside his head almost. He was surprised to discover that he kind of liked that feeling. 

“Oliver?” her voice brought him back to the moment. 

“Yes, I’m here,” he replied hurriedly. “Felicity, is there any way you can pinpoint Thea’s location for me?” he asked. “I’m staring at an office high-rise here and none of the companies in the building directory mean anything to me – Thea could be at any one of them!” He paused for a beat. “Actually they all seem like equally unlikely places for her to visit,” he added. He could hear the disgruntlement in his own voice. 

There was a loaded pause and for a second Oliver wondered if he might have lost the connection. Then Felicity’s voice was back. 

“At the risk of making you even grumpier than you already sound,” she said pointedly, “can I just ask why it is exactly that we think Thea’s in trouble?” 

Her tone had turned decidedly cheeky, he thought. 

“If anyone cared to ask my opinion,” she continued, as if she was talking to no one in particular, “I’d say it seems highly unlikely given the location she’s in. Isn’t it possible that she’s simply meeting a friend for lunch or seeking advice on her investment portfolio?” she speculated out loud, either forgetting or not caring that her thoughts were being broadcast directly to Oliver’s ear. 

Feeling unreasonably irritated that she was voicing his own thoughts from earlier, Oliver was just about to snap a less than polite reply. 

But before he could get a word in, Felicity had already skipped from her not-so-veiled lecturing to a lengthy explanation of techy things she could do. The avalanche of tech speak was accompanied by sounds of rapid tapping on a keyboard.

“Just do whatever it is you do, Felicity,” he said curtly, interrupting her flow of words. 

There were a few more ‘tap-taps’ in the background, before she replied. 

“Already done!” she declared. Her voice sounded aloof and a little smug at the same time, and he realized that with those two little words she’d told him exactly what she thought of his actions and his tone. He was grudgingly impressed. 

Still, the temptation to show him what she could do on a computer had apparently outweighed her objections to his stalker-tendencies and his manners, he noted, secretly pleased with this tiny insight into the mysterious workings of her mind. 

Then her voice was back in his ear.

“Luckily, this building seems to offer a full security service to all the companies renting office space here,” Felicity was saying, this time in her usual ‘efficient-assistant’-voice. “So I only needed to hack… I mean look into… the building’s main security-systems.” 

There was as brief pause. Oliver fidgeted with his cup, quickly losing his patience. 

Just as he was about to ask what was going on, she was back. 

“I’m scanning the footage from all the building’s security cameras right now, and… there’s Thea. I’ve got her!” He could almost hear her pumping her fist in the air, and felt a smile tug at his lips. 

His mind easily conjured up an image of her face, the way she looked when she was in her element. The cute little concentration-frown in her forehead. The tip of her tongue peeping out now and then. The excited-and-proud face she got when she had beaten yet another system. 

“That’s my girl,” he mumbled to the image in his head, but too low for the real Felicity to hear. 

Instead he started shooting questions at her as rapidly as they formed in his head: “Can you see who she’s with? Does anything look out of the ordinary? Can you send me the footage? How does…” 

“She’s alone, Oliver,” Felicity interrupted him. “She arrived in a taxi a little over an hour ago according to the timestamp. She went into the building alone, and unless she crawled out a window, she hasn’t come back out yet. I’m sending you the feed right now. Just hang on…” she paused again. He could hear more tapping and – curiously - also a little humming noise that sounded suspiciously like the theme from Jeopardy. 

“I’m just going through the in-door surveillance to see if I can tell which company she went to,” Felicity mumbled in a distracted voice.

“Got it!” she said a moment later. 

“She’s seeing…oh!” she broke off with a chuckle. 

“You’re not going to believe this Oliver. Thea went to see someone at a company called First Security – they’re a private security firm. I think your baby-sister is replacing you and hiring her own protection!” she added with a delighted little laugh. 

***

The moment Felicity said the name – THAT name – the name of the company Thea was visiting, the world had come to a crashing halt. 

Everything around him had gone quiet. He’d felt a chill slithering down his spine, settling like hard shards of ice in the pit of his stomach, radiating cold through his entire body.

It probably only lasted a few seconds but Oliver felt like he had been frozen like that for hours. And when things slowly started moving again, he realized that somewhere along the way he had stopped listening to Felicity’s commentary. 

“Wait…what?” he finally croaked. “Felicity, what did you say the company was called?” His voice sounded strange, rough and almost threatening in its intensity. 

A loud crash in the background and a yelp from Felicity was the only reply.

“Felicity?” he barked. There was no answer.

“Felicity!” he practically yelled, ignoring the curious looks he was getting from by-passers.

“Sorry Oliver,” her voice sounded a little breathy, like she had been running. “We just had a little accident here – Dig knocked over a stand with some…equipment. We’re fine. I’m back. What were you saying?”

“Did you say the name of that security company was First Security?” he repeated, struggling for a calmer tone, in spite of the sudden roaring in his ears that had replaced the initial quiet, now that adrenalin had kicked in.

“Yes,” Felicity said, obviously confused by his reaction. “First Security. Why? Do you know them?” 

There was another commotion in the background, and he could hear Felicity asking Dig if he was all right. 

“Felicity,” he said, trying to hold her attention. 

“I’m here,” she said, but she was clearly distracted by whatever was happening in the warehouse. Oliver had no trouble imagining why. He knew exactly what kind of impact the mention of that name was having on Dig. And Dig was obviously reacting just as badly as he was. 

“Felicity, this is important,” he snapped. “I didn’t see that company name on the directory. Are you absolutely sure?” he demanded, aware that he was being bossy and rude, but apologies would have to wait. 

“Yes, I’m sure,” she said. He thought he detected a slightly hurt note to her voice, but then she continued. “It’s listed as ‘FS International’ in the public directory, but in the in-house security log the company name is written in full: ‘First Security – International Private Security Firm’.” 

Oliver felt his fist clench reflexively around the empty coffee cup, crushing it to a pulp. A trickle of cold coffee dripped through his fingers, but he barely noticed. ‘FS International’. He remembered seeing that name on the directory. He started cursing under his breath. He had seen that name, but hadn’t made the connection. 

Felicity had caught onto his mood now, and was talking to him over the coms, asking him questions, wanting to know if he was all right … but her words didn’t compute. 

He felt like the world tilted around him, and he put a steadying hand on the cold wall behind him. How had they gotten this close? How had he not seen this coming? 

His mind was reeling, and he was only vaguely aware of Felicity saying something urgently over the coms, but he wasn’t hearing it. His mind was too busy conjuring up worst-case scenarios. 

“Oliver!” This time Felicity shouted. Her usually sweet voice suddenly had a snap to it like a bullet being fired, and it finally broke through his distraction. 

“Oliver, the cameras have picked up Thea leaving the office right now,” she was saying. “She’s headed towards the elevator bay. She’s leaving, Oliver. Alone. She seems to be all right.” 

Oliver snapped to attention. He had the oddest sensation, like he had been spinning on an out of control carousel and had just gotten off. He shook his head and blinked a couple of times, as if shaking off a punch. As the world returned to normal speed again, his head whipped around and his eyes zeroed in on the entrance of the building across the street. 

Moments later he watched as Thea pushed through the door of the office building and walked briskly out into the sunshine, her arm already raised to hail a cab. 

She looked fine he had to admit. Nothing about her appearance seemed off. She was wearing a relatively somber out-fit – for her – he noticed. The smart black jacket and the fitted navy blue dress looked more suitable for a business meeting than sipping lattes with her girl friends, he silently conceded. Even if the dress was on the short side. 

A taxi almost immediately pulled up to the curb, and he watched in a daze as his sister slipped daintily into the back seat. The car quickly pulled back out into traffic, and disappeared in the general direction of her apartment. 

Oliver kept an eye on the car as long as he could see it, memorizing its tag-number and company name. She wasn’t being followed he noticed absentmindedly. It all appeared so normal. 

Could it really be a coincidence? 

“Oliver?” It was Felicity’s worried voice over the coms. “What’s going on?” she asked. 

“Nothing,” he said, feeling a little deflated. “Absolutely nothing. But just to be safe I need you to check into the taxi Thea’s in, as well as the cab company it’s registered to. I’m texting you the info right now.”

He typed the information quickly and pressed ‘send’. His mind was working overtime, trying to come up with reasonable explanations. 

“Oliver, why don’t you come back here?” Felicity said quietly. “We’ll figure this out – whatever this is.” 

He nodded silently. Yes, he needed to talk to Dig. Then he remembered she couldn’t see him.

“I’m on my way,” he said and disconnected. 

***

Dig – or John, as Felicity secretly called him in her head…that other name sounded just a little too much like a navy-bromance-relic she thought – so… John… was pretending to be busy cleaning weapons or re-arranging ammunition according to size or color or something silly like that. She just knew he was keeping away from her so she couldn’t ask questions. 

Irritated, she pulled a cord out of the laptop she was working on with a little more force than necessary. 

They had been fine all morning, but now he was definitely avoiding her! And she knew it had something to do with whatever it was that had Oliver so spooked. Felicity discarded the cord she had pulled out of the laptop, in the growing pile of computer parts on the floor beside her.

After Oliver had left, John had walked her through the details of the messy diagram on the board, willingly answering her many questions as they went along. 

It had turned out to be exactly what she had suspected – an elaborate map of sorts. It was a fact-board of all the details they had dug up on the group of mercenaries they were investigating: known contacts, locations, hits they assumed the group was responsible for, incidents they might have been involved in, people they knew had had dealings with the group and much more. All of it mapped out and color-coded by authenticity and confirmation. 

They were hoping that at some point the fact-board would give them the proof they needed to take the investigation to the authorities, John had told her in a somewhat dispirited tone. But the sheer amount of information was beginning to cloud the picture more than clear it up, Felicity thought. 

She had suggested loading all the information from the board into a system she had developed, to give them the option of different electronic overviews, and John had been happy to let her do her thing. He had even thought it was a great idea…which obviously it is was, she thought testily. 

But before she could get to work on turning the board’s information digital, she had taken a good look at the computers propped up here and there around the room, in an apparently randomly set-up system. If in fact there was a system to it at all, she’d thought skeptically, inwardly cringing at the errors and inefficiency of the whole set-up. 

She’d asked John if she could make some changes to it – more out of curtesy than any real sense of needing permission. She’d had every intention of fixing the mess whether or not John had okayed it. But John had shrugged and told her to knock herself out, and she had spend the rest of the morning setting up the system, making notes as she went along about what equipment they needed to get. 

John had kept busy doing something with the alarmingly large supply of weapons that turned out to be hidden in some of the closed off storage units. 

They had been working side by side in comfortable silence, only occasionally broken by the odd question or comment, when Oliver had called in for her help. 

Things had been fine with John up to that point, Felicity thought moodily. He hadn’t even made any jokes when she hacked into the building’s security system. But then she had found that security log-file, with the name of the company that Thea was visiting, and all hell had broken loose. 

Well, actually nothing much had happened, she admitted grumpily. Not really. Except Oliver had gotten all weird and angry over the coms, and John had knocked over a stand with some sort of staff-like weapons, making a lot of noise and very little sense when he babbled an explanation. And since then, John had avoided her, making sure that he was too far away for conversation, and Oliver had simply disconnected without any kind of goodbye. 

Neither of the two men had let her in on what the big deal was with this company. And Felicity had no doubt that something pretty big was up with it. Their reaction left little doubt of that. 

Felicity yanked out a circuit board and dropped it on the pile. It was not okay, she decided. They had agreed that she was going to be part of this thing they were doing, but she couldn’t be part of it if they wouldn’t let her in on the details. And this didn’t exactly feel like a detail either! 

Feeling rather resentful, Felicity finished setting up the computer system, and stuffed all the discarded bits into an empty cardboard box. They would have to make another trip to the electronics store to get it fully set up, she thought, but at least now it was functional. 

Setting the box aside, she started transferring the messy diagrams from the fact-board to her own system. The system was designed to give an electronic overview of huge amounts of data, and it would allow them to run cross-referencing and find much more detailed and miniscule commonalities. 

Felicity was soon absorbed by the task of separating and categorizing the information, momentarily forgetting her annoyance with the two men, as she lost herself in the work. 

She didn’t hear the heavy door close, but she felt his presence even before she saw him. It was as if the molecules of the very air changed when he was in the room, she thought distractedly, making her extremely aware of him even from across the wide space of the huge warehouse. She made a face at the idea. It was insane. 

She’d had a few boyfriends in her life, but none of those relationships had prepared her for the intense reaction she had to Oliver. And quite frankly it spooked her a little, she silently admitted. It was like an invisible force pulled her towards him. Her body seemed to sense him in the room, and immediately the tiny hairs at the nape of her neck started rising. She got goose bumps on her arms, and her heart started beating faster. It was ridiculous!

In fact, it was a bit like a disease, that analytical inner voice commented drily. The symptoms of love and the common flu weren’t all that different when you thought about it. Except the flu would have been gone by now and this love-bug had a very permanent feel to it… 

Felicity shook her head slightly to stop the nervous babbling of her mind. Then she turned around to greet him. 

Her eyes seemed to zoom in on him like they were magnets drawn to iron. He was striding purposefully towards her, his feet in the soft, black combat boots making no sound on the concrete floor. The sight of him was like a jolt of electricity and she wondered if she would ever get used to it. 

He looked so…competent. There was just no other word for it, she thought, as she watched him walk across the huge room. He exuded power but moved with an innate grace that made her think of a wild animal of sorts – a predator. 

And then she saw the look on his face. He looked angry and tense, she noticed with a flash of worry. Something was clearly very, very, wrong. 

Felicity watched in silence as he made his way across the floor. He had dressed casually for today but luckily his dark jeans and winter coat would have made him stand out less in the financial district with all its suits, she thought absentmindedly. He was pulling off his coat as he closed the distance between them. He dumped it unceremoniously on a chair and took a final step, bringing him close enough that she could have reached out and touched him. 

But she didn’t. It wasn’t exactly that she didn’t feel she had the right to hug him, she thought. They had definitely left the no-touching zone behind long ago! But they were not in private. John was here, and this was work. But most of all, she simply wasn’t sure what Oliver wanted the rest of the world to think of their relationship at this point. Or what he thought of their relationship for that matter…

Her mind was rapidly spinning out of control, when Oliver simply reached out and cupped her elbow, drawing her closer. He pulled her to his side, seeming to relax a little at the contact. He bent down and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. Then he looked around for John. 

Feeling a little derailed by conflicting emotions Felicity watched in silence as some kind of unspoken message pass between the two men as John approached. 

Then she decided she’d been patient long enough. 

She pulled out of Oliver’s grip and turned to face both of them, feeling her stern-face sliding into place. 

“Look guys,” she said. “I’m sure you’re both aware that I’m not an idiot.” She raised a challenging eyebrow at them, but wisely they remained quiet. So she continued.   
“Well, it is fairly obvious that the name of that company meant something to the two of you – something very important. You’ve asked me to come and work with you here, but that is not going to work unless you tell me what is going on. So I suggest you start talking!”’

She crossed her arms over her chest, and looked expectantly at the two of them. 

Just then a sudden buzzing interrupted them. Oliver started digging around in his pocket, and finally fished out his phone. 

He glanced at the display and immediately accepted the call, lifting a finger to Felicity in a signal to be patient just a minute longer.

“Thea!” he exclaimed. “Are you okay?” He turned around and started drifting away as he spoke. 

Felicity could hear the faint murmur of a voice on the other end as he walked away, but nothing distinct. Oliver’s side of the conversation was limited to the occasional one-syllable word, so that didn’t tell her much. 

“Okay, but just don’t go there. Go to my place for now, okay? Good. Thank you,” Oliver finally said, turning around to face them again. “I’ll see you later then.” 

He disconnected and let out a sigh of relief, as he ran a hand over his face. 

“What happened?” Felicity asked, conscious that John was at her side now, just as eager to know. 

“Nothing really,” Oliver said and shrugged. “She’s downtown with a friend. She was just letting me know, and telling me not to worry.” He paused briefly, a self-conscious look on his face. 

“Apparently I tend to get over-protective and do stupid things if I don’t know where she is,” he added in a bemused voice. “She assumed – correctly - that I was still having her watched, so she was just checking in before I had a SWAT-team track her down…her words – not mine,” he said a little sheepishly.

Felicity suppressed a smile. 

“Was she mad?” she asked. Then something occurred to her. “And why did you ask her to go to your place?” she asked with a frown, as that part of the conversation sunk in. 

“Because she’d be in very grave danger if she went home,” Oliver said, his voice once again taking on that harsh, dark tone he’d had over the coms earlier. 

Felicity looked into his eyes and saw something hard and dangerous there. Her stomach clenched tight. Then she took a deep breath.

“Like I said – it’s time you two explain what this is about,” she said.


	18. Pieces of a Puzzle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More pieces of the puzzle emerge as the trio follows up on different leads - but nothing seems to make sense.
> 
> Also thea is suddenly back in the cross hairs it seems, and Oliver struggles to keep everyone safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this chapter turned out to be a lot longer than I expected when I planned it! Anyway, more is revealed and things are getting tricky...
> 
> Oh and again - I'm sorry I can't update on a more regular schedule at the moment. 
> 
> I have som family problems that are a full time job at the moment - on top of a full time job. Writing is my great escape - when I can get to it :-)
> 
> Hope you'll bear with me and if not, thanks for reading this far.

“You’re right.” Oliver nodded in agreement. He saw a quick flash of surprise in Felicity’s eyes, at his easy surrender.

“Why don’t we sit down, and I’ll tell you all about ‘First Security’?” he said, holding out a hand to her. 

She didn’t take it. She just frowned at him in that way - the way that always made him want to slide the sexy-librarian-glasses off her perky little nose and kiss her senseless. But now was really not the time for distractions, he told himself sternly as he tamped down that urge. 

He couldn’t resist reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder though, as he steered her towards the conference table. 

Dig was already pushing papers aside and settling in for a talk. 

“You’re also right in thinking that ‘First Security’ means something to us – to Dig and me,” Oliver continued as he mechanically pulled out a chair for her. “It does. In fact, it is very much connected to what we’re doing here,” he said, waving a hand in the air to encompass the entire warehouse. 

When Felicity was seated, he gave her shoulder a final squeeze before walking around the table to take a seat across from her. He briefly thought about sitting next to her, but decided he had better to be able to look her in the eye while he explained this part of the story. 

Oliver took a minute to organize his thoughts, hyperaware of the ominous silence from Felicity’s side of the table. Then he looked up. 

“‘First Security’ isn’t really a private security company,” he began. “In reality it’s a front for a group of international killers for hire – or I should say, anything for hire,” he added. “If they take on jobs posing as private security, you can be sure it’s with an ulterior motive, such as assassination, terrorism, kidnapping – something of that nature.” 

“The name ‘First Security’ has become synonymous with highly trained contract killers, who will take on just about any job for the right price,” he continued. “They are a very secretive organization,” he cast a glance at Dig and carried on, “and so far we’ve had very little luck pinning them down.”

“They usually do business by word-of-mouth, which is why it’s so bizarre that they should have an actual office right here in this city.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Even if they don’t advertise their name on the front door, it’s still very unusual for them. They operate all over the world, and they never – ever – had an address before.” 

He looked at Dig, hoping that the big man might have some helpful insight, but Dig just shrugged and shook his head. 

“Anyway, as you’ve probably guessed, we’ve come across them before,” he said, as he stared at his hands, folded in front of him on the table. His voice had turned cold and hard again. 

“In fact, the group of former SEAL’s that we’ve been investigating… they are with them.” Oliver took a deep breath and looked up to find Felicity looking at him attentively. She looked very focused, he noticed, as if she was memorizing every detail, but she was no longer frowning. 

“As far as we can tell,” Dig took over from his end of the table, “’First Security’ have been recruiting SEAL’s and other highly trained fighters for a while. The men we know are just the tip of the iceberg.” 

“It seems to be an extremely tight and well-organized operation, most likely lead by someone with a military or navy background,” Dig continued. “And they seem to somehow be able to reach and recruit sailors or soldiers while they’re still on active duty, which of course makes this investigation highly sensitive,” he added, “given the implication that someone within the navy or the military is working with them.” 

Oliver was studying Felicity as Dig talked. He could tell that she was bursting with questions, and that she was struggling to keep quite while they talked. 

For the next ten minutes they took turns telling the story of how they first came across their own former SEAL-friends on the job for ‘First Security’. 

Dig had been doing a job for another private security firm at an event where First Security just happened to be hired too. Only, the men sent by First Security weren’t actually there to protect anyone. They were there on a contract to kill someone. Dig had been present when it happened, busy protecting his own client. He had recognized two of their former navy-buddies in the ‘First Security’-detail - two of the men that he and Oliver were already investigating. And that’s how he and Oliver made the connection to the name ‘First Security’ and started following their trail. 

They had soon discovered that ‘First Security’ was a bit of a legend in the criminal world. Their special ‘services’ were the best, and any job could be done for the right price. But so far ‘First Security’ had evaded them, and been close to impossible to pin down. 

They had come into close contact on a few occasions, Dig added, but stayed a bit vague on the details. Oliver noticed Felicity shooting Dig a look through narrowed eyes. No doubt she had picked up on his evasiveness on those ‘occasions’, he thought as he suppressed a smile. She didn’t interrupt though. 

“So that brings us to today,” Oliver took over again, bringing her attention back to him.

“When you told me that Thea had gone to a meeting with these people, I just lost it for a moment. It makes no sense to me and yet it terrifies me,” he explained. “I mean, first of all – why would they risk opening an actual office? Why here? It seems too much of a coincidence. And what would they want with Thea? There is no way she just happened to look them up on her own,” he finished emphatically. 

“Oh, and in answer to your earlier question about why I asked Thea to go to my place?” he added. “When I was on the phone with her just now, she told me that she was on her way home to meet with her very own, newly hired bodyguard from ‘First Security’.” He shook his head in disbelief. “She was acting all gleeful and telling me how I could drop my surveillance, now that she has her own protection.” Oliver made a face in disgust. 

“At least I got her to agree to cancel the appointment and wait for me at my place until I can get there and explain,” he mumbled to no one in particular. 

He leaned back in his chair, frustrated with events that made no sense whatsoever, and emotionally exhausted. He closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face, before looking up at Felicity, to see how she was taking it all. 

She looked surprisingly composed as she processed what they’d told her. 

“Can I say something now?” she asked looking from one to the other.

They both nodded silently. 

“Okay, first of all,” she said, “don’t think for a second that I don’t know you’re still not telling me everything!” She shot both men a hard look. 

“But I’ll let it go for now,” she continued. “Because I might be able to clear up that whole ‘why-do-they-have-an-office?’-thing for you.” She pulled over her laptop and typed in a few commands. 

“See, when you both started acting really weird about this company, I looked into the building management’s files – you know, while I was searching for security footage and all that anyway?” she looked quickly at Oliver, but when he didn’t question it she turned back to her screen.

“Anyway, I kept digging when you pointed out that the name in the directory wasn’t their full name – I thought it was kind of strange to hide your business name – I mean, wouldn’t you want potential clients to be able to find you?” she speculated out loud. 

When neither of the men replied she carried on. 

“So like I said, I dug a little deeper, and it turns out, ‘First Security’ only leased that office space two days ago! And get this, the contact information they gave the building manager is bogus. It’s all non-existent. Phone number, fax, address of their main office. None of it is real. And the lease is for one month paid up front, with money wired in from an untraceable overseas account.” 

Felicity looked from one to the other, expectantly. 

“Oh, and the security log with the company’s full name? It was wiped half an hour after Thea left their office!” she added. 

“I’d say this office is just a front, and a very temporary one at that. They probably only had the reception and one office furnished, and I just bet they’ll be out of there the minute their current job is over – whatever it is,” she speculated. 

Felicity leaned back in her chair, looking eagerly at the two men. 

“Makes sense,” Dig said, frowning as he got up to look at her screen over her shoulder. “But it still doesn’t explain what they were doing with Thea or how they made her come down there in the first place.”

“Right,” Oliver said decisively, as he got to his feet. “I think it’s time I go and have a chat with my sister. We need some answers.” 

He turned to Felicity, expecting her to join him, but she didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving just yet.

“Are you coming?” he asked with a puzzled frown.

“Nope! - Can’t,” she said without looking up from the data she was scrolling through on her screen. “I have to meet Barry down at police head quarters in...” she glanced at the clock on her screen. “In about half an hour,” she added. 

“Remember, I told you?” she said, glancing up at him. “He asked me to come down and have a look at what he had found out.” 

Oliver vaguely remembered her mentioning it last night. At the time he had thought it important, but now, in light of the days’ events, it seemed only marginally interesting. 

“But I have to get back to Thea,” he said. “I doubt she’ll be hanging around waiting for me forever, and I really need to get to the bottom of this.” 

“Of course,” Felicity said. “You go talk to Thea, and I’ll see what Barry has come up with.” She flashed him a quick smile before turning back to her computer. 

“But…Felicity, you can’t!” he said without thinking. The minute the words left his mouth he knew they had been a mistake. 

“Excuse me?” she said incredulously, giving him her undivided attention.

Oliver could hear a soft chuckle from Dig behind him. 

“You know what I mean,” he tried reasoning. “You can’t go alone – it’s not safe. I was going to take you, but I have to get back to the apartment. We’ll just have to call Barry an re-schedule,” he said with a shrug. 

Felicity glared at him. 

“Or…” she said in a strained voice. “I can just have John escort me down there and you can go talk to your sister.” She leaned back, arms crossed, daring him to deny that John would be just as capable of protecting her as he was. 

“Ah, sorry Felicity,” Dig interrupted their staring contest. “As much as I would love to, I’m afraid I can’t. I have a meeting with another client in twenty minutes, so I’m afraid I have to get going.” He smiled at her apologetically. Then he shot Oliver an evil grin, before he grabbed his coat and headed for the door. 

Oliver didn’t blink. He kept his eyes locked with hers, but she just wasn’t backing down. 

He let out an exasperated sigh, as he got up and walked around in circles, going through his options. Short of simply carrying her out to the car, wrestling her inside and manhandling her all the way to the apartment, he didn’t have many, he realized. 

He eyed her speculatively for a moment. She had made up her mind – that much was obvious. 

“Okay,” he finally said. “Here’s what we’re going to do.”

***

Bodyguards! There was just nothing subtle about them, Felicity thought self-consciously as she turned her back on the two suit-clad, hard-muscled, automatons Oliver had insisted she bring with her. 

It was funny really, she speculated as she crossed the lobby floor of the downtown police head quarters to announce her presence at the reception. You’d think that they would blend in and just sort of magically appear at any sign of danger, but somehow they always managed to be very conspicuously unobtrusive.

And these two were a prime example, Felicity mused, observing the two men out of the corner of her eye, while the receptionist dialed Barry’s extension. They were extremely polite, didn’t speak unless absolutely necessary – in fact she had wondered if the shorter of the two did speak at all. They wore non-descript clothes and seemed to make it their life’s mission to become part of the wallpaper as they hovered around her – which only made them stand out all the more. 

But they were highly efficient when it came to protecting their client, she admitted grudgingly.

Although technically she wasn’t really the client, she corrected herself absentmindedly as she studied the two men. Oliver was the client. Or was he their boss? She wasn’t entirely sure about the nature of that relationship. He seemed to have a number of these guys on speed dial anyway, and they had certainly been quick to arrive at the warehouse when he called for someone to guard her. 

‘Guard her!’ she huffed silently. It made her feel like she was a prisoner of sorts, or at least a wayward kid, who couldn’t be trusted to go straight home from school on her own!

While the receptionist chatted with Barry over the phone, Felicity watched warily as her protection detail positioned themselves to cover the huge lobby. This was of course great in terms of keeping her safe – however, the flip side of it was that it made her feel slightly boxed in.

But she knew of course that it made sense to take precautions – and she wasn’t about to pull a Thea and make a run for it either. She had no illusions about the danger being any less real today than it had been yesterday, and she was grateful to Oliver for making sure that she was safe. 

It still didn’t change the fact that she hated being babysat – and she really didn’t like going out in public with an entourage. It was just…embarrassing! 

“Felicity!” Barry’s cheerful voice interrupted her train of thought. She spun on her heel to greet him, a happy smile forming on her face even before she saw his slightly goofy welcoming grin. 

She hadn’t really been aware how much she craved a little normalcy after the constant drama surrounding her own and Oliver’s lives lately, but watching Barry make his way across the busy lobby was like a soothing balm on her nerves. 

This was work. He was as friend. This was normal…ish, she thought.

And Barry looked reassuringly like he had the last time she saw him. His tall and lanky frame was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, an open lab-coat flapping around his legs as he walked. His dark brown hair was slightly messy and flopped into his eyes on one side. Impatiently he pushed the lock of hair back with an unconscious gesture.

“Hey Barry,” she said, with a rush of friendly affection that surprised even her. She gave him a quick hug and stepped back to look at him.

“Good to see you,” he said with an easy smile. “Thanks for coming down here. I just thought it would be easier if you saw for yourself what I found,” he explained as he turned and started leading the way towards the elevators, one hand casually cradling her elbow. 

But as soon as they started moving, the bodyguards were in motion too, never looking directly at Felicity or Barry, but constantly scanning the surroundings. 

Barry looked at them in surprise and immediately pulled to a stop, raising a questioning eyebrow at her. 

“What’s this Felicity?” he asked, a curious smile playing around his lips. “You don’t trust me and the entire city police force to keep you safe?” He didn’t seem offended though, she noticed. There was laughter in his eyes as he took in the two silently menacing men. 

“Oh, I trust you Barry,” she said, rolling her eyes in exasperation. “Oliver on the other hand…not so much!” she grinned impishly. 

“No, seriously,” she added in reply to his questioning look. “I’m in a bit of trouble – long story – but Oliver thought it would be best to bring a few of his…friends…along. Just in case.” She shrugged, suddenly very aware how ridiculous it all sounded. Why would an ordinary it-girl need protection? 

Barry looked at her seriously for a moment. Then, to her surprise, he simply nodded. 

“Okay,” he said and continued to lead the way towards the elevator. “Would it be all right if they wait outside the lab though?” he asked as they all shuffled into the elevator. “I’m really not supposed to bring visitors down there,” he added apologetically.

“No problem, they can wait just outside the doors,” Felicity said, secretly relieved that he hadn’t pressed the issue, as the elevator doors closed on the awkward four-some. 

No one spoke on the ride down to the basement, or during the short walk down the hallway to the lab. At the hermetically sealed, soundproof glass-doors leading into the lab, she stopped and turned to face the two men.

“I’ll be fine in there,” she said firmly. “You can wait for me here.” 

“Sorry Miss Smoak,” the taller of the two replied in a respectful tone. “I’ll have to check the room before I let you in alone.” He looked at Barry for approval. 

Barry hesitated for a second. Then he shrugged in a ‘if you have to’-gesture. The big man pushed through the doors, and did a quick survey of the room. His partner remained silently hovering beside Felicity. 

Neither Barry nor Felicity felt like talking in the hulking presence of the bodyguard. 

Just as the silence was about to become too strained and uncomfortable, and Felicity felt the beginnings of a major babble-attack coming on, the bigger bodyguard came back out and nodded his approval at Felicity. He didn’t say anything. He just silently held the door for her as she walked in, followed by Barry. 

The doors closed behind them with a faint whoosh of air as the seal engaged. Felicity instantly felt that she could breath a little more easily knowing that the two men outside couldn’t hear what they were saying. 

“You seemed surprisingly okay with my baby-sitters,” she commented as she turned towards Barry. 

He chuckled and pointed her towards his lab station.

“Where Oliver Queen is concerned nothing can surprise me anymore” he said with an easy shrug. “I’m sure there’s good reason for this,” he said indicating the two men just visible through the glass doors. “And it sort of proves me right anyway,” he smiled conspiratorially at her. 

She looked at him questioningly. 

“It’s like I always say,” he explained. “Oliver Queen makes life more interesting - and he definitely brings me the most interesting cases.”

Felicity snorted in reply but didn’t correct Barry’s assumption that her trouble was somehow related to Oliver.

He stopped at the lab table and turned to face her. A computer screen was showing a number of graphs, and a complicated looking machine next to the lab table was making a gentle whirring noise. It all felt soothingly normal to Felicity. 

“So,” Barry said, turning all serious and businesslike. “I finally got some results from the analysis I’ve been running on that drug.” He frowned as he turned towards the computer screen. “I’m just not sure if it’s any help really,” he added with an apologetic glance at Felicity.

“Tell me,” she said, leaning her hip on the lab table, as he started going through the graphs and numbers on his screen, talking her through a series of tests he had performed. 

“The final results came back as 99,9% certain that the drugs originates with a medical company in Boston,” Barry concluded. 

“And trace mineral compounds in the drug seems to indicate that the drug was doctored in that area too, to produce the pure form that was used on Thea. But I’m afraid there’s no way of knowing how it wound up here. All I can tell is…”

“Wait, what medical company?” Felicity interrupted abruptly. 

At the mention of Boston, Felicity had felt a chill sliding down her spine and an alarm seemed to go off in the back of her head. 

There were lots of medical companies in the general Boston area, of course. The fact that this drug came from one of them wasn’t in itself surprising or indicative of anything really. It might be a complete coincidence. Besides, whoever slipped Thea the drug could have just bought it off someone and have absolutely no connection to the company that produced it. This was just a starting point for a new line of investigation, she rationalized. 

But the alarm in her head kept going. 

It was just that…her own trouble had started with a medical company – in Boston – and that just seemed like too much of a coincidence. But what were the odds of Thea’s problem and her own somehow both tying into a Boston medical company?

“What company, Barry?” she repeated when he didn’t immediately answer. 

Barry looked up in surprise at the sudden tension in her voice. 

“It’s a company called ‘RP BioPharma’,” he said with a puzzled look on his face, as he hit a few keys on the keyboard.

So much for coincidence, Felicity thought, as her mind went into a frenzied overdrive, trying to find answers to questions she couldn’t even frame. 

How was it possible? she asked herself, as the familiar logo popped up on Barry’s computer screen. 

She knew that logo so well - it was practically ingrained on her brain. She had stared at it so many times, willing it to give her the answers she needed. First on the screen of her laptop as she had searched for ways to clear herself, later on the stupid little box of promotional mints, she had carried with her as a constant reminder of her purpose. 

And now, here it was, plastered over Barry’s huge flat-screen, unequivocally – and inexplicably - linking her own past with whatever had happened to Thea. 

“Felicity?” Barry’s voice sounded worried. “Does that company mean anything to you? Do you know something about it?” 

Felicity stared at the screen, momentarily lost for words. She was vaguely aware that he was asking her questions that she didn’t know the answer to. 

There had to be an explanation, she thought. But whatever it was, Barry couldn’t help her, and she didn’t even know where to begin to explain this bizarre turn of events to him.

No, she needed to find her own answers before she could tell him anything, she decided. 

With an effort she smiled at him, and shook her head apologetically.  
“Sorry, Barry,” she said. “I guess I spaced out for minute there. I was just wondering how to use this new information. At least it gives us something to go on – I was thinking about how I could pursue it,” she explained. 

Barry looked like he was about to ask another question, but then he shrugged and turned back to the screen. He hit a few more keys and a printer sparked to life in the corner. 

“I’m just printing this info for you,” he said. “I’d email it, but…” he paused, looking a little uncomfortable. “I’m not really supposed to be doing this and I kind of don’t want to leave too much of a trace here?” he ended the sentence as a question, as if begging for her understanding.

“Of course, Barry,” she said placing a hand on his arm. “I totally get that you’re doing this as a favor to Oliver – I don’t want you to get in trouble over it. You’ve already helped us so much.” She sent him a grateful smile. 

Barry returned her smile in a flash.

“In that case,” he said as he straightened up and headed to the printer to retrieve the printout. “I guess I should confess that showing you the results in person was only half the reason I asked you to come down here.” He glanced at her, suddenly looking a little shy.

“I was hoping that maybe you’d like to go and get another cup of coffee …or something…” he said, fidgeting with the papers in his hands. 

Felicity stared at him for a second, caught up in a myriad thoughts and emotions. She was still lost in the strange new revelation of the connection between herself and Thea, she was wondering if he was asking her on a date, and at some level she even managed to be surprised that the whole world didn’t already know about her and Oliver. 

“Uh…I…” she stammered in confusion. “Barry, I would love to have a cup of coffee with you,” she finally managed to say. “But just so you know, I’m sort of seeing someone now…” she trailed off feeling awkward all of a sudden. 

“Oh, sure! No, that’s fine. I mean, I didn’t mean…I mean, I wasn’t asking you on a date…I just… you know… coffee,” Barry babbled, fumbling as he tried to fold the papers into an envelope. 

Felicity looked at him searchingly for a moment, and decided not to press the matter. 

“Well, then yes, I’d love to go for coffee,” she said, this time with a genuine smile. “I could really use a break from all the craziness of working with Oliver,” she added in an aside. 

‘And I need a distraction from this new discovery until I can get my hands on a computer and some alone time’, she silent added to herself.

“Same place as last time?” he asked, with a brilliant smile and handed her the envelope.

“Sure,” she said as she took it from him and stashed it in her purse. “But we’ll have to bring my baby-sitters,” she sighed and grimaced. “Oliver’s orders.”

 

***

For the second time that day Oliver found himself lurking outside a coffee shop. This time, however, he wasn’t leaning against a cold wall, trying to blend in with his surroundings while making a take-out coffee last an hour. 

No, this time he was making no effort to hide himself. He stood, his nose practically glued to the glass façade of the shop, watching his assistant - and unofficial girlfriend - have coffee with his friend - and sometimes Happy Helper - from police head quarters. 

He scanned the room and located his two men, positioned on either side of the couple, far enough away to give them privacy, but close enough that could get to Felicity in a split second. He made eye-contact with the primary and nodded to him in a sign that he was going to take it from here. 

As the two men stood up and moved towards the back of the room, Oliver’s gaze returned to Felicity and Barry. 

Felicity was listening intently to something Barry was telling her. Both of them were cradling oversized coffee mugs, and they seemed completely oblivious to their surroundings, as they chatted happily. They were unconsciously leaning towards each other the way people did when they were genuinely interested in what the other person was saying, he noticed with a sour taste in his mouth. 

He felt a scowl creep onto his face as Felicity glanced up at Barry and smiled. He watched Barry stretch out a hand, and place it on her arm. Felicity threw back her head laughing at whatever Barry was saying. 

Oliver felt something ugly stir in his gut. Some slimy, primordial instinct was rearing its head and before he knew it, he was pushing through the doors to the coffee shop, without even realizing he had started moving. 

His rational inner voice was faintly cautioning him to stop and think, but he wasn’t going to stand here and watch while some Einstein-wannabe pawed his woman, he argued with himself. He had a sudden image of his inner caveman growling in support, while his more evolved self was speed-talking sense to him. 

He stalked through the crowded coffee shop, navigating the haphazardly placed tables and easy chairs, stepping around customers’ piled up shopping bags and trying not to trip up the busy waitresses circling the room collecting mugs and plates on their heaped trays. 

Felicity and Barry seemed blissfully unaware of his presence. They were completely engrossed in whatever fascinating scientific discussion they were having – at least Oliver hoped it was something scientific and very impersonal. 

He reached their table just as Felicity looked up, and met his gaze. 

“Oliver!” she exclaimed in surprise, still smiling at whatever Barry had been saying. “I didn’t know you were coming,” she continued. Then she seemed to notice his scowl and her smiled started to fade. 

At Felicity’s outburst Barry had looked up too. He still had an annoyingly happy and unconcerned smile plastered all over his face Oliver registered grumpily, as he took in the cozy little tête-à-tête.

Then his gaze slipped down, and landed on Barry’s hand, still resting casually on Felicity’s arm.   
Oliver thought he could hear growling, but the couple in front of him didn’t appear to notice. He took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the tight and clammy feeling in his gut. It felt a bit like nausea – only less dignified. It made him want to hit something…or someone. 

‘Get a grip Queen,’ he silent told him self while counting to ten. He knew he was overreacting, but he really didn’t like this. He wasn’t sure why exactly, because he wasn’t usually the jealous, possessive type. 

But Felicity looked so happy and relaxed here in this coffee-shop… with Barry Allen. She looked so in her element. And he couldn’t help but wonder if the scientist wasn’t a much better match for her than he was. And that maybe - if circumstances hadn’t thrown him and Felicity together - she might never even have considered him? 

“Is everything all right Oliver?” Felicity was asking, with a concerned look on her face. 

For a second he just looked at her. Then, with an effort, he let his shoulders relax, took a deep breath and pulled up a vacant chair from the neighboring table. He waved away the waitress who was headed towards them and sat down. 

Barry’s hand was still resting on Felicity’s arm as if he had completely forgotten about it. Oliver glared at it, and pointedly reached across the table to grab her hand. He laced his fingers through hers, uncomfortably aware that he was being ridiculously demonstrative, but he was feeling very territorial and he just had to let the other man know that he was trespassing. 

Felicity jumped in surprise as he grabbed her hand, and stared at him in confusion. He could tell by that small frown in her forehead that she was trying to work out what was going on with him. It was only a matter of time before she reached the inevitable conclusion he knew. 

Thankfully, Barry seemed to have gotten the message though. As soon as Oliver took her hand, Barry had snatched his away from her arm, and leaned back in his chair as if to put more space between himself and Felicity. 

‘Smart move,’ Oliver’s inner caveman grumbled. 

“Oliver?” Felicity repeated, this time the look she gave him was a little miffed. She had obviously seen his move for what it was, and she didn’t approve. 

“Everything is fine,” he said, trying to smooth things over with a smile that he hoped was relaxed. “I got things settled back home and I just thought I’d come and get you myself and let the guys go home,” he shrugged.

Felicity’s head whipped around to locate the bodyguards, but they had disappeared by now, as per his request. 

“Oh,” she said in surprise. “I didn’t even notice that they had gone.” 

“No,” he said, looking at Barry. “Clearly you two were very absorbed in whatever you were talking about.” 

Felicity glared at him. 

“So,” Oliver said conversationally, still looking at Barry. “Did you find anything?”

“I got some results, yes,” Barry said nervously. “I’m not sure how much help they are, but Felicity has everything I found.” He glanced at her quickly, visibly uncomfortable. 

“Good! So you’re all done here?” Oliver said, looking pointedly at Felicity. His tone clearly indicated that he thought the mission was accomplished and that they should all go home. 

“Actually, Barry and I were just catching up over coffee – you know, like friends do!” she snapped, stressing the word ‘friends’ in an unmistakable way. Her eyes were actually shooting lightening bolts at him, he noticed with interest. At the last moment he caught himself before grinning at her. Best not set off the fireworks in a public place, he decided. 

“Yes, well, I’m just not sure you should be having coffee in a public place like this…you know, with everything that’s going on?” he said, raising an eyebrow at Felicity.   
“But since we’re here,” he added leaning back in his chair. “Maybe I’ll get a cup too then.” 

He raised his arm to wave over a waitress, but Barry had already jumped up. 

“You know what, I really need to get going,” he mumbled, fumbling for his jacket. “It was really good to see you again Felicity,” he said, looking at her. “Let me know if there’s anything else I can do,” he added hurriedly, this time looking at Oliver. He smiled and waved at Felicity. Then he was gone. 

The minute he was gone Felicity’s smile slipped and she went back to glaring at him. She snatched her hand out of his and folded her arms over her middle. 

“What was that, Oliver?” she hissed, obviously upset, but trying not to draw attention. “Why on earth would you need to get all territorial with Barry? He’s my friend…our friend. He’s helping us! Your behavior was just…What is the matter with you?”

And somehow is just didn’t help that he knew she was right. He had known even as he did it, that he was being ridiculous and that poor Barry had done nothing wrong. But he just couldn’t admit that. 

And he also couldn’t explain to her why he suddenly felt so insecure and scared, or why he had felt a need to stake a claim that he didn’t even know if it he had. 

‘But,’ his inner devil suddenly contributed, ‘on the other hand there was the whole issue of the exposure she was risking sitting in a public crowd like this. A café where lots of other people could get hurt if someone were ruthless and bold enough to try and get to her.’ 

He silently nodded in agreement. It was just reckless behavior on her part - nothing to do with Barry Allen. 

“Barry is not the issue,” he heard himself saying. “I’m just surprised that you’d be reckless enough to go and have coffee in a public place, with everything that’s going on right now. That’s all.” 

Felicity looked as if he had slapped her. She didn’t say anything, she just gathered her purse and her coat, and stood up to leave without another glance in his direction. 

He scrambled to follow, silently kicking himself for making an already bad situation worse.   
He had some groveling to do later, he knew. And he hadn’t even gotten the news about Barry’s results, he realized as he pushed through the doors to catch up with her.


	19. Breaking Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver an felicity are both struggling with the recent events and revelations, trying to make sense of it all. Felicity had a shock when Barry discovered the connection to the Boston company that is involved in her own trouble, and is struggling to make sense of it. She want to tell Oliver but is scared what his reaction might be - and on top of that they're all worried about what might hit them next - and from where. They have reached breaking point, and something is going to have to give...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...finally - I know I've been gone for a looooong time - a year!- and I'm so sorry for the delay. family issues, illness and lots of other stuff kept piling up, but now I intend to finish this story. So if anyone is still with me, I hope you'll enjoy the race to the finish-line! (and if not I'll finish it anyway, just for me :-) )

Felicity kept up the silent treatment as Oliver got behind the wheel and started navigating downtown traffic. An occasional glance out of the corner of his eye gave him no hint of what was going on in that beautiful head of hers. Her face was inscrutable - an icy, blank mask - but he had no doubt that she was fuming on the inside. 

‘And rightly so,’ the voice in the back of his head reminded him. He had been a jerk back there, and she had every right to be angry with him. The thought only made him clench his teeth and grip the wheel even harder. 

Ordinarily he might have tried to defuse his furious passenger, but right now he was just too angry with himself and too frustrated by all the inexplicable events of the past few days, to even try and make amends. So he settled for driving in silence. 

He drove aggressively, taking out some of the pent up grievances on the road, screeching around corners and revving the engine unnecessarily at every stop. 

In the end, his childish antics accomplished what he hadn’t been able to do in words. Felicity turned abruptly in her seat, and finally broke the silence. 

“Are you so anxious to avoid a fight that you’d rather get us both killed?” she snapped, eyes blazing. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he growled stubbornly. Which was of course entirely the wrong response, he immediately realized. 

“I’m talking about you, driving as if you were being chased by machine-gun-wielding gangsters,” she replied scathingly. “Or at the very least like you were in one of those rallies. You know, one of those with the beat up cars, that aren’t meant to survive the race?” she tagged on in an aside in her usual rambling manner. 

He couldn’t help a half smile at that little babble-slip-up, but he hurriedly turned his head slightly to the side so she wouldn’t see. 

“I’m not trying to do anything Felicity,” he said in a slightly more moderate tone. “I’m just not very happy with the way things are going right now, that’s all,” he finished lamely. 

“I don’t know what you have to be angry about,” she snapped, demonstrably staring straight out of the windshield again. “You were the one being completely unreasonable back there,” she continued defiantly. 

“Unreasonable?” he yelled, his temper immediately triggered again by her accusation. Instantly all the frustration he’d been trying to push down bubbled to the surface again. 

“I’m being unreasonable for trying to protect you?” He continued, somehow unable to stop the anger from pouring out even though he knew perfectly well that he wasn’t really angry with her. But he couldn’t seem to find the stop button. 

“Protect me?” her voice rose several octaves at that. “Oliver, I was in a coffee shop. A coffee shop frequented largely by police officers I might add. There were tons of people around including your own protection detail! How much more protection do I need?” She huffed angrily as she folded her arms across her chest and turned her head to stare out the side window. 

“A lot apparently!” he retorted peevishly, inwardly wincing at the iciness he could feel building in the car. ‘For the love of God, someone please shut me up!’ he mumbled to himself, banging a hand against the wheel for emphasis.

“I’ll second that,” she muttered, still not looking at him.

‘Great,’ he thought. ‘She heard that. That’s helpful.’ 

Beside him Felicity sighed and reluctantly turned to face him again. 

“Look, Oliver,” she said in a slightly more conciliatory tone. “I know you’re worried about me and I get why you need me to keep your men around, but you can’t wrap me in cotton like I’m some piece of fragile china. You agreed to let me be part of the team, and that means letting me do my job. And my normal…stuff.” She finally raised her eyes to look at him fully. “Including seeing friends,” she added pointedly.

He held her gaze for a moment, trying to communicate with his eyes what he was having so much trouble getting out in words. 

“I know, Felicity, but …think about it,” he finally said. “Last time these people tried to snatch you from the street. Clearly they have no problem with causing public disturbances, so a coffee shop is just not safe even with my men around.” He tried to speak quietly this time, so she wouldn’t go off again, deliberately avoiding the ‘friend’-issue.

“I just can’t have you in danger too.” He finished a little lamely, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

He watched as that cute little wrinkle appeared on her forehead. She was at least thinking about his point of view. That was something. 

“I mean,” he continued. “It seems like it’s coming at us from all sides and I just can’t make any sense of it yet, so…until I figure out what this is all about…whether it’s connected or just one hell of a coincidence…well, until then I really need you to stay safe.” He looked at her pleadingly.

“Please Felicity. I can’t worry about you AND my sister all the time,” he finished, shamelessly taking advantage of the concern her knew she had for Thea.

As he’d suspected the mention of Thea’s name seemed to be the magic word. Felicity’s head instantly snapped up, her mouth forming a silent ‘O’.

“Oh my god, I completely forgot,” she blurted out, looking crestfallen. “How is Thea really? Is she okay? Did anything else happen? Did she tell you anything? Where is she now? Is she in the apartment? Does she know anything?” She fired questions at him, her anger apparently forgotten for the moment, in worry about his sister. “Is she okay with ME being in the apartment?” she asked as an afterthought.

“Thea’s fine,” he hurried to interrupt her. “She’s fine. At least for now. She’s at the apartment but I’m guessing not too happy about it…and of course she’s fine with you being there,” he added in a softer tone of voice. 

“She really likes you, you know,” he added, suddenly feeling inexplicably shy. 

“And I like her,” she said. “I just can’t believe I got so wrapped on in my own drama I completely forgot about her and the drugging and the mercenary-bodyguards and...’

“Felicity!” he interrupted her once again. “Relax. Breathe. She’s fine. We’re all fine. We just need to a be a bit more careful for a while, until we figure out what all this is.” He frowned in frustration and once more stared out the windshield trying to will his mind to unravel the mess of connections and unlikely coincidences that were piling up.

Then he noticed that Felicity had slumped down in her seat looking strangely defeated. She was toying with the strap of her messenger bag, biting her lip, and looking very much like a child caught with her hand in the cookie-jar.

“Felicity?” he asked. “What’s wrong? Did you think of something else?”

Felicity looked at him, concern and something else he couldn’t quite identify in her eyes. What was that? Guilt maybe? But that made no sense, he thought. 

“Did she find out about the bug in her phone?” Felicity asked in a small voice, clearly very uncomfortable with the subject. 

‘Ah! So that’s what’s bothering her,’ he thought, fighting the smile he felt coming on. She was so cute when she was worried. But he figured he better keep that to himself too…

“No,” he said instead. “And she won’t find out just yet either,” he added, looking at her meaningfully. “I need to be able to track her – for her own safety Felicity. And I know my sister well enough to know she’d never allow it. So please. I know it’s not fair to ask you to be party to this, but it’s for her own good. At least until we know what we’re dealing with. Please?” He glanced at her nervously.

She was biting her lip again, which was really very distracting he thought absently, as he waited for her answer.

She eyed him skeptically for a minute or so. Then she sighed in defeat.

“All right, I won’t say anything, but I’m not happy about this,” she added emphatically. “And when she does find out – you better be right about her liking me or our living arrangement could suddenly become extremely awkward!”

He smiled at that. It seemed that his feisty assistant-slash-IT-girl had forgiven him for his latest transgression. At least enough to bury the hatchet for now. 

“But Oliver,” she said as if she’d read his mind. “You need to talk to Barry.” She looked at him with a no-nonsense expression. 

Oliver felt his inner cave-man growl in protest.  
“He didn’t do anything wrong,” she continued. “In fact he was just trying to help, and you were being an ass to him just now, for no reason.”

It was his turn to bite his lip. Just so he wouldn’t make things worse by arguing.

“You know,” she continued eyeing him quizzically. “For some reason he seems to worship you. Although after today maybe not so much,” she added drily. 

“Anyway, you need to apologize to him.” She turned in her seat to face him fully.

Gripping the wheel a little tighter, he forced his facial muscles to relax and sighed.

“I’ll talk to him,” he grumbled reluctantly, ducking her gaze. 

As much as he hated to admit it, he knew he had overreacted a bit and he wasn’t proud of it. He didn’t much feel like examining the reason for that overreaction either, he realized. He shook his head slightly at his own messed up responses. 

“Talk to him?” Felicity said, arching a brow in a way that spoke volumes. 

“All right, apologize,” he agreed gruffly. “I’ll apologize next time I see him, okay?” he looked at her quickly, just catching the slight smile she was trying to hide.

“Good,” she said happily, relaxing into her seat. 

‘And apparently that concludes the talking for the moment,’ he thought, as Felicity turned her head to stare out the side window, seemingly lost in thought.

 

***

 

Felicity sighed again, earning her a curious glance from Oliver. Standing silently side by side, they watched the floor numbers light up, one after another, as the elevator rose from the underground parking level to Oliver’s apartment, giving her a strange sense of déjà vu.

To Felicity it seemed like the elevator was crawling towards the top floor, the numbers lighting up at a snails pace. She glared at the panel of numbers, willing them to go faster. 

Not that she was really in a hurry to get to the apartment and have that serious talk with Oliver. Nope! She was not looking forward to that. But the things she’d discovered today were too important to withhold. And she didn’t exactly want to withhold them either. It was just that…she needed time. Time to find an explanation.   
But they didn’t have time, she thought with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Not with kidnap attempts and strange mercenary companies lurking in the background – not to mention Thea sitting in the apartment like a ticking bomb ready to go off at any moment!

It wasn’t until she felt Oliver’s questioning gaze that she realized she’d been mumbling to herself, and tapping her foot impatiently on the elevator floor. 

She met his eyes briefly, gave him a half apologetic shrug, before once again returning to staring at the numbers. 

‘Actually,’ her inner voice of reason piped up, ‘now would be a good time to bite that bullet and tell him!’ Felicity only just resisted making a face at her inner voice. But on second thought, she realized now was as good a time as any – at least they were alone. 

“Oliver,” she began, turning towards him. 

Just then the elevator pinged, signaling that they had finally reached their floor. As the doors started to slide open, Oliver automatically moved in front of her to check the corridor before letting her out. Normally this would have irritated her, but her recent discovery and the events of the day must have made her more pliant than usual. 

She watched warily as he scanned the hallway. When he found nothing to alarm him, he turned towards her and held out his hand. With a resigned sigh Felicity placed her hand in his and let him lead her to the apartment, for once not immediately distracted by the ever-present electric current sparked by his touch. 

She had too much on her mind.

“Oliver,” she tried again. “We really need to talk about what I found out today.” They turned the corner in the corridor and headed for the Ninjas guarding his front door.   
“I think it might be importa…”

“I know, Felicity,” he interrupted her. “And we will. But first I’d like to make sure you and Thea are safe. And then I need more answers from Thea.” He gave her hand a quick squeeze as if to soften the brush-off. 

Strangely the reprieve didn’t really make her feel any better, she realized.  
‘But at least it’ll give me a chance to look into this Boston-connection and maybe get some answers first’, she thought glumly. 

Caught up in thought, she only vaguely registered when the Ninjas nodded their greetings to Oliver. Her mind was already halfway through the first computer search she intended to perform as soon as she could commandeer the office – or at the very least the computer. 

But as soon as they entered the apartment that plan bit the dust too.

Thea was hovering in the hallway, silent and pale, and uncharacteristically subdued. The younger woman’s expression wavered somewhere between furious and terrified every time she looked at her brother. Her obvious distress somehow reignited Felicity’s own current resentment of Oliver and she resolutely pulled her hand from his, and stepped away to put more space between them. 

At his look of surprise she deliberately turned to look at Thea. 

Thea was looking so pathetic in her distress that Felicity immediately decided that the two of them needed some girl-time away from Oliver. 

Which might be difficult, she realized with a frown, considering that they were all going to be cooped up in the same apartment, and with Oliver about to launch sister-interrogation 2.0!

But as if Thea had read her mind, the younger woman seemed to recover the power of speech just in time to head off her brother’s Q&A. 

“Finally! You’re back,” she snapped. “I’ve been going crazy here Ollie. I had half a mind to just go home since you couldn’t be bothered to explain to me why my new bodyguard was supposedly trying to kill me!” Thea’s inflection made it clear what she thought of that theory. 

She was looking livid now, standing feet apart, and arms folded across her narrow frame. Apparently she’d decided to go with anger over fear, Felicity observed with interest.

“You really scared me, you know that?” Thea continued. “And I’ve been sitting here going over it in my head and all I can come up with is that this is just one more instance of you deciding that no one else is able to do the job as well as you! Well guess what big brother, if I want to hire a bodyguard of my own, I will! You’re not my guardian and I can do with my own money as I choose.” 

Pausing for breath, Thea glared at her brother defiantly. 

“I know you can,” he replied in that long-suffering tone he sometimes used when he felt he was in the right and everyone else were just being problematic, Felicity thought, irrationally annoyed on Thea’s behalf. 

“And I don’t have a problem with you hiring a bodyguard Thea. As a matter of fact I think it’s a great idea if you won’t take my help in that department.” He gave her that big-brother look that Felicity just knew was going to set Thea off again.

But before anyone else could get a word in he continued. 

“But this security company is not what it seems. I can’t tell you how I know that. I just do. But believe me Thea, if you had gone to meet the guy alone, you’d have been in a lot of trouble right now.”

“Trouble?” Thea asked incensed. “As in ‘my big brother is going to yell at me’-trouble or as in I’d be dead? What level of trouble are we talking about exactly Oliver? Because when you left me here earlier all you said was that they would have killed me…no explanation, no reason, and quite frankly I find that a little hard to believe. I mean, why would they? I’m paying for their services. Why would they kill the money? It makes no sense Oliver! You had me freaked out earlier, but I’ve had time to think, and what I’m thinking is, I want to go home!”

“Thea!” Oliver practically yelled. He was obviously very close to physically restraining his sister Felicity thought, so she decided to intervene. 

“Anybody interested in a compromise?” she asked, loud enough to get the attention of both Queen-siblings.

“Look, we’re all having one hell of a lousy day,” she said looking from one to the other. “So instead of continuing this fun little shouting-match,” she did a little finger-jig to indicate the two of them. “How about we all take a time-out? I for one could certainly do with a few…breathing exercises and half an hour’s meditation.” She looked at Oliver with what she hoped was a serene expression. 

“You mean, you would like half an hour alone with my computer, don’t you Felicity?” Oliver grinned, not for a second fooled by her suggestion.

But to her surprise he seemed to consider her proposal anyway.

“Actually, it’s not a bad idea,” he said thoughtfully. “There’s something I need to do, so why don’t the two of you take a little break from all this stress and do something…fun. As long as it’s in this apartment.” He looked at Felicity meaningfully. 

“What?” Thea asked incredulously. “You’re leaving again? You still haven’t answered any of my questions and I’m not going to just sit around here indefinitely while you pick up your dry cleaning or whatever it is you suddenly remembered you have to do!”

“Thea,” he implored. “I promise you I’ll answer all your questions as soon as I get back, but I need to see to one more thing first. It’s important.” He looked so serious that even his aggravated sister seemed to feel his urgency.

“Well… I guess another hour won’t matter,” she conceded petulantly. Then she turned to Felicity with a wicked little smile. “And it would be nice with some girl-time,” she said grinning in a way that Felicity felt was decidedly ominous.

“But you’d better be prepared to answer questions when you get back!” Thea spun around and pinned her brother with another death-stare, waving an admonishing finger in his face. 

“I promise,” he repeated with an earnest look. 

With another probing look at his face Thea apparently decided to play along for the moment. Sighing, she turned on her heel and trudged back down the hall towards the guest bedroom. 

“I’ll just let you two lovebirds say goodbye then,” she called over her shoulder. “Join me when he’s gone Felicity?” Then she slammed the door to the guest room.

 

***

The second the bedroom door closed behind her, Felicity turned to face Oliver. 

“What was that all about?” she hissed. “Where are you going and why aren’t you questioning her now?”

“Because it occurred to me that my sister has an unfortunate tendency to be too trusting of everyone she meets,” he stage-whispered. “I was trying to figure out how she suddenly became a target when I realized that her boyfriend is a very recent addition to her life, and that we don’t know nearly enough about him. So I’m going to talk to Dig and get him to do a more thorough background check on him.” 

“You’re having her boyfriend investigated?” Felicity asked. “Don’t you think you’re in enough trouble with her already?” Felicity blinked up at him. “Wouldn’t it be better to just tell her about your concern? Start by asking her about him? You know… just the basics, before you invade her privacy any more than you already have?”

“I already know the basics,” he said in an off-hand manner.

“Of course you do,” Felicity mumbled staring unseeingly at his chest. “You’ve already looked into him haven’t you?” she asked suspiciously.

“He’s dating my sister,” Oliver replied with a shrug, as if that was answer enough. “But I only looked for the basics,” he continued. “Now I have a more concrete connection to look for.”

“Well, then I’m coming with you,” Felicity decided, grabbing her coat off the chair where she’d dumped it when they came in.

“No, Felicity, I need you to stay here and keep an eye on Thea.” He stopped her with a hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him.

“Look,” he said. “I’m going to talk to Dig and get him on it, then I’m coming straight back here to talk to Thea, okay? All I need you to do is stay here and make sure she doesn’t change her mind and decide to leave. And believe me she might!” he added with emphasis.

“And what makes you think I could stop her?” Felicity asked archly, not a little put out by the fact that he was leaving her on babysitter duty while he and Dig played detectives. On top of which she felt more than a little uncomfortable knowing that she was being complicit in yet another scheme to look into Thea’s personal affairs without her consent or knowledge. 

“Well it sounded to me like my little sister has plans for you, Miss Smoak,” he said with an evil grin. “And knowing my sister, she’ll be very thorough when it comes to questioning you about your…our…personal life. I’ll be interested to know what you tell her myself…” He added with a wink.

Oliver bent down and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. Then he turned on his heel and walk to the door.

“Oh, and Felicity,” he said just as he was about to open it. “If she does run out of things to ask you, you can always ask her about this Alex guy – you know…the basics?”

He grinned at her, completely unrepentant, and then he was gone.

 

***

Awkward didn’t even begin to describe it, Felicity thought with a shudder and another furtive glance at the Queen siblings siting side by side, but several feet apart, on the opposite side of the table. 

The three of them were having dinner at Oliver’s insistence. 

He had ordered take-out instead of cooking – which in hindsight was probably just as much because he didn’t trust either of them around a knife at the moment, she thought snarkily.

So now the three of them were seated around the dinner table, together, but probably all wishing they could be somewhere else. To say that things were strained in the Queen household this evening would be the understatement of the century!

Felicity took another sip of wine, furtively studying her dinner companions over the rim of the glass. 

Thea had had some time to think and it seemed like the talk she’d had with Oliver after he got back was starting to sink in. Felicity didn’t know exactly what he had said to her, except that he must have painted an uncomfortably harsh picture of what might have happened, had she gone home to meet the First Security bodyguard. 

But whatever his exact words had been, they finally seemed to have the desired effect.   
Thea had decided to let Oliver and his men take over protection duty until this whole mess was resolved, and had settled into the guestroom at least for a couple of nights. She had grumbled a bit about it, pointing out that if he decided to take in any more strays, his apartment would start looking more like a refugee camp! But she’d stayed. 

Felicity felt a surge of sympathy with Oliver’s sister at the inner struggle so clearly visible on Thea’s face. The younger woman was obviously frightened and because of that she had been grateful for Oliver’s intervention. But she was also just as stubborn as her brother and so far refusing to admit as much. 

Yeah, the three of them living together was not going to be without fireworks, she thought with a chuckle. 

Two pairs of eyes immediately zoomed in on her at the unexpected sound. She waved them off with a noncommittal sound and pretended to concentrate on her plate again.

No, Felicity thought, Thea may have conceded for now, but she didn’t believe for a second that the younger woman had given up control. 

But right now Thea just sat there, her slight frame dwarfed by Oliver’s hulking presence at her side, staring at her plate and saying very little. She kept rearranging her food endlessly, but eating none of it. 

As for herself, Felicity was so caught up in her own whirlwind of conflicting emotions and confusing theories that she’d barely said a word either. 

But if Thea was meekly pushing food around her plate, Felicity was taking her frustration out on hers by systematically cutting it into tiny bits until the whole plate resembled meat-and-veg confetti. 

At first she had been fuming over Oliver’s behavior at the coffee shop. But gradually realization had set in – that maybe he was right too. She HAD perhaps been a bit reckless. Going out for coffee – even with the bodyguards in tow – probably hadn’t been the smartest move.   
Still, she felt certain that his behavior had had more to do with Barry and less with any security risk – real or perceived. But the confrontation in the car had left her feeling torn between anger and a growing sense of guilt. So for now she retreated into silence while she tried to sort it out. And on top of that there was this other uncertainty… 

Felicity gave the last piece of carrot a vicious cut and felt slightly better when it split in two. 

Okay, so if she was being honest with herself, she was starting to worry about his reaction to what she had to tell him. About Barry’s discovery and what it meant. Not just because it was another piece of the puzzle that didn’t seem to fit, but because…well, because there was a chance that Barry’s discovery of the Boston connection would push Oliver to choose between his sister and herself. And there was a good possibility, she realized, that his big-brother protectiveness would trump new-girl-friend-protectiveness…if that was even what she was. 

With a sigh Felicity put down her fork and gave up pretending to eat.

She glanced furtively at Oliver, trying to gauge his state of mind. 

Oliver was being cautious and confused. He was clearly aware of their respective moods, but just as obviously clueless when it came to dealing with it. He had made several inane attempts at conversation, which neither of the women had paid any attention to, while his uneasy gaze drifted between the two of them. 

She almost felt sorry for him. Almost…

But by the time dinner was over – or rather when she had finished shredding her food and Thea had had enough of rearranging hers – Felicity had made up her mind. 

She needed some time alone – away from all the drama and excitement. She needed time to think. And since leaving the apartment wasn’t an option, she decided to excuse herself and go and lock herself in the bathroom for a long bath and hopefully clear her head. 

As soon as the table was cleared, she made her excuses, doing her best to ignore the tiny flare of guilt at Oliver’s hurt expression.

 

***

Felicity looked at her own pale reflection in the bathroom mirror one last time, and put away the hairbrush that had been her stalling tactic for the past five minutes. She had run out of things to do in here a while ago, and she finally gave up putting off the inevitable. 

On any normal evening, spending time with Oliver would be the highlight of her day. But tonight she was dreading being alone with him. 

She pulled a face at her own uncharacteristic wavering. Then she straightened her shoulders and pushed open the door connecting the bathroom with the master bedroom, steeling herself for the conversation to come. 

But to her surprise the bedroom was dark. No lights had been turned on, and the drapes had been pulled almost all the way shut. Only a narrow gap in the middle let in a strip of pale moonlight, turning everything in its path a monochrome palette of black and white. The rest of the room was in darkness. And it had that empty feel to it, like no one had been in there for a while.

Felicity knew her way around the room by now. She didn’t need light to navigate by – that wasn’t why she lingered in the doorway. 

She was just at a bit of a loss. She had been so sure that Oliver would be in here by now. She had expected to find him reclining on the bed, in that deceptively calm, controlled manner he had, when he was focused on something. She had expected him to be waiting for her to finish in the bathroom so they could finally have the talk they had been building up to ever since their aborted semi-confrontation in the car on the drive home that afternoon. 

Of course she had been taking an inordinate amount of time getting ready for bed, vaguely hoping for some form of divine intervention…like him falling asleep while waiting.   
It was a little cowardly, she admitted to herself, but she still wasn’t sure what she was going to tell him. 

Felicity sighed and flicked off the lights in the bathroom. At least for the time being it seemed she had been handed a reprieve – there was no sign of him. 

Feeling a bit anticlimactic, she drifted towards the window, drawn by the ghostly moonlight, falling through the gap in the drapes. She leaned her forehead against the cool glass and stared unseeingly into the moonlit night. 

Exhausted by the events of the day, she let her mind drift. The possible significance of what Barry had found, the Thea-drama, The First Security-story, Oliver going all possessive at the café …all of it seemed to drift over her inner movie-screen in ever-changing correlations, forming patterns and impossible connections. 

She closed her eyes and tried to tune it all out. Tried to think of something else. Like where was Oliver? She opened her eyes and frowned. She hadn’t heard him go out, but then again, she’d been locked in the bathroom for a long time. 

Felicity shivered, feeling a little chilly as the cool air of the bedroom wiped away the last of the heat from her bath. She hadn’t bothered putting on a robe, since she had meant to go straight to bed, and the spaghetti-strapped silk nightgown she had put on after her bath didn’t offer much warmth. 

Unconsciously she rubbed a bit of the soft, smooth, midnight-blue fabric between her fingers. The nightgown was one of the things Oliver had brought here for her. She didn’t usually wear that sort of thing to bed. She was more of a tank top and pajama-bottoms kind of girl. But sleeping with Oliver made her want to wear nice things. Feminine things… 

Her mind was running a tired loop, she realized. She wasn’t getting anywhere tonight. She had hoped that a nice long bath would get rid of some of her anxiety and confusion. And it had worked – mostly – on the anxiety-part. Not so much on the confusion, though… 

Felicity lifted her head away from the glass looking up towards the moon. It hovered, big and almost full, like a pale face, looking down on the city with hollow eyes. She stuck her tongue out at it in a childish but oddly satisfying gesture. Why people found the moon romantic was beyond her. It was a moon. A satellite tied to earth in endless orbit – not some mystical spirit! 

But she had to admit the moonlight was strangely compelling… 

Her mind returned to Oliver and her current frustration with him. The man could really drive her up the wall! He could be charming, entertaining, funny…but he could also be absolutely maddening at times – especially when he wouldn’t tell her stuff out of a misplaced sense of over-protectiveness. Or when he tried to control her. Or when she had no idea where they stood, or what his reaction would be to her news…

Felicity instantly slammed the breaks on that line of thinking. She tried enumerating his faults as a means of distracting herself. But her mind kept throwing images at her of Oliver being sweet, loving, caring…and of course mind-blowingly hot! Damn him! She frowned and tried harder, clenching her hands in annoyance – more irritated with her own susceptibility than with him. 

The problem was that ever since that first kiss in the street, the tension between them had been like a bomb waiting to go off. And when it finally had, in the isolation of the small cabin deep in the woods, it had swept her away. She still hadn’t quite processed the way things had exploded between them – all she knew was that it felt right, but it also unsettled her. And then there was the fact that they hadn’t actually discussed their current status… 

Felicity was so lost in her own thoughts that she never heard him enter the room. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she suddenly felt his presence close behind her. 

His body-heat was almost like an actual touch where it seemed to push through the thin fabric of her nightgown. 

He didn’t speak at first. He just stood there behind her, looking out into the moonlight in silence with her. He didn’t touch her, but she could feel his body so close that she knew even the smallest movement would bring them together. 

It was peaceful in a way, her mind registered vaguely. Standing here with him like this, not talking. Like they had agreed to a temporary truce…

But she could feel the tension building. It was as if he wrapped himself around her, even though no part of him touched any part of her. She sensed the shift in the air when his chest rose with every intake of air. She could feel his breath on her neck, and even the small hesitation just before he spoke.

“Felicity,” he said softly, as if tasting her name. His warm breath wafted over the back of her neck as he spoke her name, leaving goose bumps in its trail.

She opened her mouth to answer, but it ended up in a gasp, when she felt warm lips lightly trail over the exposed skin on her shoulder. It was a feather-light touch, almost chaste, but the feel of his lips on her skin, however innocent, was enough to send an electric current running through her body, making her tingle all over. She forgot all about the things that needed saying, and lost herself in sensation. 

His lips left her shoulder and she closed her eyes in expectation of his next touch. She unconsciously counted her own heartbeats, waiting, wanting... but nothing came. 

She made a small sound in frustration and opened her eyes to find his reflection in the darkened window. She could only make out his silhouette. 

Oddly mesmerized by his silence, she held her breath in anticipation. Seconds ticked by until finally, she felt the air stir again ever so slightly, felt his breath on her shoulder. Then his nose slid up the side of her neck, his lips just grazing the lobe of her ear. It was a tiny caress, but it was enough to cause her to involuntarily take a small step back, bringing her back in full contact with the hard planes of his chest, as his arms came up to steady her. 

It gave her a strange sense of relief when she finally felt his hands on her. She pulled in a ragged breath of air suddenly realizing that she had forgotten to breathe. 

“Felicity,” he repeated harshly, his lips close to her ear. His hands slid up her arms to grip her shoulders, and turn her around to face him. She slowly lifted her eyes to his, grateful that the darkness hid her face. She was certain that he would have been able to read every emotion on her face, as if she’d had them spelled out in neon on her forehead. 

“We need to talk,” he whispered, his voice rough. He bent his head slightly and rested his forehead against hers. It was too dark to see clearly, but she felt like his gaze was burning into hers even though she knew he couldn’t see her clearly. 

“I know,” Felicity sighed, her voice was a little shaky too she noticed.


	20. Connecting the Dots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity finally sit down to talk, and hopefully make som sense of everything that's been happening. But as they start to connect the dots they soon realize that they've got more questions than answers - and some of the questions could force Felicity to make a big decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all thank you for all your comments- I'm so glad you guys still want to read my story even after the long break :-)
> 
> This update took just a little longer than expected - sorry about that, but I've struggled a bit with this chapter. It's a lot of talk,talk,talk and I was afraid it wouldn't read quite right. Still not sure it does, but here goes...
> 
> So: I'll throw myself into the next the chapter instead...more action ahead!
> 
> :-)

Oliver took a step back, but he didn’t let go of her right away. He felt reluctant to break the spell that seemed to have weaved itself around them. After the day they’d just had he desperately wanted to make sure that they were okay. 

But they also needed to talk. And it really couldn’t wait. 

With a sigh of regret, he gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze, and let his hands slide slowly down her bare arms. The lingering caress caused a slight stutter in her breath he noticed. 

His hands reached hers, and her fingers automatically tangled with his, holding on as if she too was reluctant to let the moment go. 

The whitish light from the moon cast shadows over her features, but when she tilted her head back to look up at him, her face was clearly visible. Her eyes looked huge and dark, and he could feel her gaze almost like a physical touch. 

“You know, as much as I would love to have this conversation right here, and preferably under the covers,” he muttered hoarsely, “I think we need to move this talk out of the bedroom.” 

Felicity bit her lip and blinked up at him a few times. Then she nodded. 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She let go of his hands and took a step back, causing the thin silk slip to shift over her body. 

Oliver instinctively wanted to reach out and pull her back to him, but he was distracted by the way the moonlight reflected off the silky material of her nightgown, highlighting every curve as she moved. 

“Probably fewer distractions in the kitchen,” she said with a throaty chuckle.

“Kitchen!” he croaked. “Yes, good idea. Why don’t I go and put on some coffee and you put on some…thing more than that,” he finished lamely, waving his hand in the general direction of her silk-clad body. 

“I don’t want you to get cold,” he added unnecessarily. 

She gave him a knowing look that told him she wasn’t fooled. She knew exactly why he needed her to put on more clothes, and it had nothing whatsoever to do with the room temperature. 

But thankfully she didn’t argue. She just turned on her heel with an enigmatic smile and headed for the closet. 

‘Good plan,’ he told himself, as he watched her walk away. But his mind kept throwing images at him that were anything but helpful. He groaned and closed his eyes briefly. 

With one last glance towards the closet, he resolutely left the room, before he could do something stupid. 

He hurried through the living room towards the kitchen, turning on a few lamps as he went. 

The apartment was quiet. 

Thea had gone to bed hours ago, and he hadn’t heard a peep from her room since. He’d looked in on her briefly before going to look for Felicity. Thea had been fast asleep curled up on her side like a small child, clutching a spare pillow. He had felt a sharp pang of guilt at the sight of her, knowing how scared and confused she’d been.

He sighed and rounded the corner.   
In the kitchen he switched on the single light over the stove, but left the rest off. He busied himself with the coffee maker, while he waited for Felicity to get dressed, trying to get his head back in the game. 

Lately he’d felt like his mind wasn’t working with its usual efficiency. With Felicity and his sister both being in the crosshairs he was getting too emotionally involved, and it was clouding his judgement. 

The happy gurgling of the coffee percolating interrupted his thoughts. The noise seemed overly loud and normal in the night-quiet apartment. 

He was too easily distracted because of his own involvement he decided, picking two mugs from the shelf and placing them on the breakfast bar. 

He was loosing sight of his target, missing crucial signs. It wasn’t like him at all. He was starting to think it might be affecting his ability to do his job, not to mention his ability to protect Thea and Felicity. And he simply couldn’t afford to be at anything less than peak-performance right now. 

A small sound made him turn around. Felicity was standing in the doorway, with a wary look on her face. She was wearing one of his grey hoodies, and a pair of pink pajama bottoms. The hoodie completely dwarfed her and should have made her look ridiculous, but the overall effect was adorable and inexplicably sexy. 

He couldn’t help but smile at her.

His eyes lingered on the tousled blonde locks that she’d caught up in a messy bun, with just a few loose strands framing her face. The hair made her look like she’d just rolled out bed, he thought wistfully, and he found he was itching to pull the pins out to see it fall down her back…

‘Stop it!’ his inner voice of reason commanded sharply. 

“Right,” he mumbled to himself. “Talk first…”

“What was that?” Felicity asked softly, moving towards the breakfast bar where he’d placed the mugs. 

“Nothing, sorry. Just doing a mental checklist,” he said, turning to grab the coffee pot off the coffee maker, deftly sliding in a paper towel to catch that one rogue drop that always seem to fall in spite of the drip-lock.

“Black?” he asked, half turning to look at her. 

“Yes, please,” she said, pushing her mug towards him. 

He poured them both steaming mugs of coffee, and placed the pot back on the hot plate.

“So,” she said, cradling her mug in both hands, staring into the dark liquid. 

“Yes,” he replied, sliding onto the stool across from her. “Where to start...”

 

***

 

“Why don’t you go first,” Felicity prompted quickly. “What did you find out from your talk with Thea? Did she have any useful information? Did she explain how she came to be at First Security this morning?”

Trying to organize his thoughts, Oliver mimicked her posture, cradling his cup and staring into its black depths rather than looking at her. 

“Well,” he began, “as far as I can tell, First Security actually approached her - although she thinks she was the one to contact them.”

“Explain that,” she said with a frown.

“You remember how Thea told me she was going to get her own security detail, in stead of using mine?” 

Felicity nodded.

“See, I didn’t really think much of it at the time, because to be honest, it’s the sort of thing my sister might say in the heat of the moment, but then she’s likely to forget about it and just do nothing.” 

Oliver took a sip of his coffee. 

“So what makes you think they got in touch with her and not the other way around?” Felicity asked, puzzled.

“Because of the too convenient way she was reminded of her decision,” he explained. “Two days ago, when she got home, there was a flier in her mail from a company called FS International, offering personal security services, bodyguards and such. There was a phone number and an address in a very respectable part of town… as you know,” he inserted with a quick glance at her. 

“The timing was perfect. Thea recalled her decision to get rid of my men, and instantly called to set up an appointment – which was for this morning.” He shrugged and put his mug down on the counter. 

“Well that’s a bit of a coincidence,” Felicity commented drily. 

“Exactly,” he agreed. “Too much of a coincidence. I mean, first of all, security companies don’t advertise by having fliers distributed in people’s mail like they were offering a special on pizza or Chinese take-out!” He shook his head vehemently.   
“That’s not how these businesses work. The whole point of them is discretion.”

“And second, their clientele tends to be of a pretty elite and exclusive nature. And personal security really isn’t the sort of service these people would be ordering from a flier showed under their door!”

Felicity nodded noncommittally.

“I’m willing to bet this flier was a one-off, made specially for Thea, and definitely not widely distributed,” he continued, unconsciously running a hand through his hair.

“But Thea has never had dealings with this type of company before, and she can be a bit impulsive.” He paused. “And to be honest…a tiny bit gullible at times,” he finished with a shrug. 

“Anyway, she made the appointment and went down there this morning as you know. She was pretty smug about it when she told me,” he said flashing her a quick grin. “I think she was kind of proud to be sticking it to me like that.” He smiled fondly, but his expression quickly sobered again.

“So what did she tell you about the meeting?” Felicity prodded. 

“Nothing much for us to go on,” he said with a frown. “It was as we expected. She didn’t think anything was weird at the time.” 

He played with his coffee mug, making the rapidly cooling liquid swirl around. Then he pushed it aside with an exasperated sigh. 

“But why would she?” he thought out loud. “It’s a nice office building, fancy reception area, security is good, lots of legitimate businesses in the building, lots of people in suits coming and going.” 

Oliver stared unseeingly at the wall.

“And inside FS international Thea only saw the reception area and one office,” he carried on. “She described it as ‘modern’ and ‘minimalistic’.” 

“Yeah, I’ll just bet!” Felicity snorted. “Minimalistic as in ‘We’ll be gone in 60 seconds’ I’m sure!”

Oliver shot her a tight smile and took a sip of the now tepid coffee. He pulled a face and pushed the mug away again.

“She also said there was a young Asian woman manning the desk,” he continued. “But I’m guessing she was either an asset or some temp or actress hired for the day to play the part. Probably no one we can track down.” 

“Thea was taken to the office of the handler she had an appointment with, but didn’t see anyone else. She didn’t think much of it,” he added. “She said there were 7 or 8 offices down the hall. There were names on the doors, but they were all closed. She just assumed people were having meetings or were busy working. And before you ask, she didn’t remember any of the names,” he finished.

“The names were probably made up anyway,” Felicity said, as she slipped off her stool to go and refill her mug.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” he agreed. “Apparently there was nothing in the meeting itself to trigger an alarm either,” he said. “It was all pretty straight forward. Terms, payment, services…”

“I asked her to describe the man she met with, but I think it was pretty futile. I mean, she described him as average height and weight, Caucasian, light brown hair and a short beard. Glasses.” Oliver sighed and rubbed a hand across his eyes. 

“I mean, the description rings no bells for me. It matches none of the people we’ve identified in First Security – but at the same time it’s so generic it could be anybody! And most of the characteristics, like hair color, beard and glasses? Those could be changed in an instant.”

He rested his chin on his folded hands, staring pensively out the night-darkened window. 

“Refill?” Felicity asked, giving him a small nudge with her hip as she passed to place her own mug on the table. 

“Sure,” he mumbled, pushing his mug towards her. 

“Does she still have the flier?” Felicity asked over her shoulder as she threw the cold dregs of his coffee into the sink and rinsed out his mug, before filling it again.

“Yeah, and I even had her call the number again, just to check if they were still ‘open for business’,” he said, nodding his thanks as she slid the refilled mug in front of him.

“She got a voicemail saying that she’d reached FS International, but that they were unable to take her call at the moment, and to leave name and number… you now, the usual.” He picked up his mug but didn’t drink. 

“It wasn’t that unexpected given the hour, but I’m pretty sure that if we call the number again in a day or so it’ll be out of service – permanently!” he added. 

Remembering the next part of his conversation with his sister made him shift uncomfortably on his chair. 

Felicity picked up on it right away he could tell, but thankfully she didn’t ask questions. She just waited for him to continue. 

“Thea wasn’t convinced that they were anything other than what they seemed,” he finally carried on. 

“So I had to tell her a little bit about First Security. Just enough to scare her off,” he set the coffee back on the counter and looked away. 

Felicity reached over to cover his hand with hers. 

“You had to convince her to stay away from them Oliver,” she said. “And you know she’d have gone back there just to spite you if you hadn’t given her reason to believe you.”

“I know,” he said in a tired voice. “I just never intended for her to know about them. I hate seeing her so scared.”

“But the thing I don’t get,” he continued, suddenly more angry than tired. “Is why are they doing this in the first place? It just doesn’t make sense to me. I mean First Security is a stone cold business, and their business is making money off violent crime. If they wanted to hurt Thea they would have done so – so why the charade? Why try and lure her in like this? Why not just grab her when she came to their office? Why even go through the whole ordeal of setting up an office at all? They make a living hurting, kidnapping and killing people. This…it doesn’t seem like their usual MO. And like I said…I just can’t figure out why.” 

Felicity gave his hand a little squeeze before letting go. 

“I don’t know the answer to any of that Oliver. All we can do is keep digging. But for now she’s safe, here in the apartment, so stop torturing yourself over what might have happened to her.”

He rubbed his hands over his face for a moment. Then he sighed and let them drop, giving her a probing look. 

“You’re right,” he said. “And speaking of digging deeper – what did Barry have for you today? Did he have news about the drug she was given?” 

 

***

Felicity had the fleeting thought that this was how a deer must feel, when it got caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. 

Having Oliver point the spotlight on her like that, she felt like there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. 

And the worst part was, she didn’t even know why she should have to. 

All she knew was that the moment she’d been dreading all day was here. She knew that what Barry had discovered was very important - she just couldn’t make sense of it. And frankly, she was scared of what it might mean. So she just sat there for a moment, immobile. 

“Felicity?” Oliver’s concerned face came into focus, and she gave him a quick smile. 

“Sorry, just trying to gather my thoughts,” she muttered, twirling a loose lock of hair around her finger in a nervous gesture. 

He zeroed in on it immediately and narrowed his eyes speculatively.

“What don’t you want to tell me, Felicity?” he asked shrewdly, his voice suddenly silkily smooth. And deceptively calm. She could feel how alert he was. He was practically jumping in his seat to find out what she was trying to …well, not to hide exactly, she tried to convince herself. More like…rationalize.

‘Face it. You’ve got nothing!’ her inner voice helpfully pointed out. Felicity felt like sticking out her tongue at the annoying truth. 

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you Oliver,” she gave in with a sigh. “It’s just that…I don’t really understand any of it myself.”

“Understand what?” he asked 

She stared at him helplessly a few moments. 

“Felicity?” he said slowly, pronouncing every syllable of her name. 

“All right, all right!” she snapped, throwing her hands up in surrender. “Barry did find something.”

Oliver looked at her expectantly.

“You know how he’s been trying to locate the original source of the drug that was used on Thea, to get us a lead on who might have bought it? Well, he found out where it was originally produced in the pharmaceutically approved form.” She met his eyes briefly before once more looking into her mug. 

“Of course the drug had been doctored a bit before it was given to Thea, and we still don’t know who did that, but we do know its original source now,” she rushed on. 

“But that’s good news Felicity,” he said, clearly mystified about her reluctance to share the information. “That gives us somewhere to start – something to go on. So what company did it come from?”

“Aaaand that’s where it gets strange,” she said.

“The company is based in Boston,” she said softly, glancing up at him from under her lashes.

She saw his eyes widen in surprise, and then narrow as the meaning of that piece of information began to sink in.

“Boston?” His voice suddenly sounded tight.

“I know,” she hurried on. “And that could have been a coincidence, of course. Because, I mean let’s face it, there are a lot of pharmaceutical companies in the general Boston area, and it’s not that far fetched that a drug produced by one of them could wind up here. In fact, I’m sure lots of drugs originating in the Boston area are used in hospitals around here,” she babbled on desperately.

“But?” Oliver asked very quietly. 

“But the company that produced this particular drug is called RP BioPharma,” she said, almost whispering now. 

She glanced up at him again trying to gauge the impact of that name. She didn’t think that she’d mentioned the name before, but she knew Dig had been looking into her past, and it was possible that he’d come across it. 

Oliver looked at her steadily, obviously sensing the importance of the name, but clearly not familiar with it. 

“RP BioPharma is the company that was targeted, using my algorithm,” she said slowly, not looking away. “The same company whose data was harvested. The company that I’m under suspicion for hacking into.” 

Oliver didn’t immediately speak. 

“Look, Oliver, I’ve been wrecking my brain all day trying to come up with an explanation,” she rushed on. “I realize it can’t be a coincidence but I still haven’t figured out what the connection is,” she said helplessly.

Oliver was unnaturally quiet. The only telltale sign that he wasn’t completely calm was the muscles in his jaw working furiously, as he mentally went through the implications of what she’d just told him. 

But Felicity didn’t wait him out. She felt like she could practically see the thoughts forming in his head. 

He had probably already reached the inescapable conclusion – that she was somehow at the core of all this.   
Maybe he even thought she could be behind it all.   
Or at the very least that she was putting everyone else in danger.

And from there it was really just a short jump to the inevitable realization that the only way to protect his sister from the evil that she, Felicity, had brought with her from Boston, would be to cut all ties to her.

Then she realized with chilling clarity, that he would be right in doing so. 

She felt something cold settle in her stomach at that thought. 

“I know what you must be thinking,” she heard herself saying. “But I swear to you Oliver, I’m not involved in this. At least not in the way you may think. I know how it looks – I mean, how can the same company coincidentally be involved in what happened to me in Boston and what’s happening here now, to Thea? What are the odds, right?” she rambled on.   
“I mean, not literally what are the odds, because even if it were possible to determine, I don’t need to know the exact answer to that. They obviously aren’t very good. Statistically speaking it’s highly improbable that these two series of events are unrelated. And… what I’m saying is, clearly there has got to be a connection between the two. I just…I just need time to figure out what it is…besides, you know… me…being the common denominator,” she trailed off, running out of steam. 

She glanced over at him, but his face was a blank. 

“Say something, Oliver,” she whispered. 

He looked up and met her nervous gaze. His looked a little dazed she thought, as she looked into his eyes.

“What?” he said with a confused frown.

“Anything,” she said nervously. “Say anything!”

“No, I mean, what did you just say?” he clarified. 

Felicity looked at him uncertainly. 

“That… it’s obvious there’s some sort of connection between my past and what’s happening here?” she answered hesitantly.

“Yes, I got that part,” he said with a half smile. “No I meant that stuff about you being involved. You’re not seriously worried that I think you orchestrated all of this, are you?” He looked somewhere between angry and amused, she noticed.

“Felicity, they’ve been after you since Boston. We already knew this,” he reasoned. “They came after you here. This is not news. What is confusing is the fact that the same people are apparently after Thea.”

He chewed his lips in concentration. 

“I know,” she said dejectedly. “I keep going over it in my head, but I’m drawing a blank.”

“The only thing that I know for certain,” she carried on, “is that I am the one thing that links all of these events. So it stands to reason that it’s because of me that Thea is in any danger at all.” She paused for a moment to let her words sink in. 

“And I think…” She swallowed with difficulty. “I think the only logical conclusion to all of this is that I need to leave. I need to get as far away from you and Thea as I possibly can, and we need to make it clear that we’ve severed all ties so they’ll stop pursuing you.”

She felt cold all over just saying it, but she knew instantly that it was the right thing to do. The only thing she could do right now.

Oliver stared at her incredulously. 

“Not a chance!” he said flatly. 

“Oliver, think about it,” she pleaded. 

“No, YOU think about it,” he shot back. “You seem to be overlooking one very important fact, Felicity.” He raised his eyebrows in a challenge.

Felicity just stared at him, and shook her head in silence. Her mind was running in circles. 

“If Thea is simply collateral damage in their attempts to get to you, then how do you explain the fact that the first attempt on Thea was made even before you two met? Before they tried grabbing you off the street?” He looked intently at her.   
“Why would they need to do that? If they were following you, if they already knew where you were, why go for Thea? And if they hadn’t already found you, how would they even know to go after Thea?”

Felicity stared at him in mild shock. He was right. How had she not realized that? Someone HAD drugged Thea before those men had come after her. 

But what did that mean?

With a groan of frustration Felicity buried her face in her hands. 

“Am I the only one who thinks that every answer we get seems to lead to two new questions?” she mumbled from behind her hands. 

“We definitely need to revisit that fact-board you made,” Oliver said thoughtfully. 

“Oh, and another thing,” he added in a casual tone. “You’re delusional if you think I’m letting you go. You’re not throwing yourself to the wolves when we don’t even know what this is all about!” 

 

***

 

Felicity peeked at him through her fingers, trying to decide if he was just responding to his usual hero-complex or if he really thought it was a good idea for her to stay. 

“Oliver, even if we can’t explain how Thea was targeted – or why – I’m still somehow the one thing that links all of this together,” she said quietly. “And that makes me a threat to you all.”

Oliver was shaking his head emphatically even before she’d finished talking.

“Forget it Felicity. If anything, I’m to blame,” he said. 

Of course he’d say that, she thought, almost laughing at the predictability of his response.

“You may be the one they’re after,” he continued, “although I’m not saying I believe that.” He looked at her pointedly. “But the reason they found you in the first place is because I started poking around in your past…without your consent as you may recall,” he finished.

“Oh, I haven’t forgotten,” she said a little peevishly.   
“But whatever caused them to come, the fact remains that they’re here, they’re after me, and as long as I’m around, you and Thea – maybe even Dig – could wind up getting hurt. I still think it would be best if I left. I can slip away quietly like I did in Boston. Go off grid, leave no trail.” 

Felicity silently prayed that the intense stab of pain she felt at the mere thought of leaving wasn’t showing on her face.

“I could probably get a job waitressing or something. They wouldn’t do a background check for a waitress, would they?” she speculated out loud, deliberately ignoring Oliver’s outraged expression. 

“Felicity!” he practically yelled. “You’re. Not. Leaving.” 

“But…”

“No!” he said categorically. “I won’t let you. Besides, who’s to say they’ll leave us alone just because you’re gone? I think we’ve established that we don’t know what’s behind this, and if this isn’t about getting to you, then your leaving isn’t solving anything.” 

Felicity bit her lip as she thought it over. Her mind wasn’t working right, she decided. She felt like she was grasping at straws, and quite possibly being extremely selfish, but she really wanted his logic to be sound.

“Look,” he said quietly. “We’re a good team, and we stand a much better chance at beating this…whatever it is… when we’re together.” He studied her face seriously. 

“Now, what I think we need to do, is to try and get some sleep, and then tomorrow do a fresh storyline and fact-check,” he said. “Maybe Dig can spot something we’re missing, but at the very least, we shouldn’t make any big decisions tonight.”

Felicity felt her resolve waver as he looked at her expectantly. 

“I don’t know Oliver,” she began.

But before she got any further, he was out of his chair and around the counter. Without a word he pulled her to her feet and straight into his arms. He tucked her head under his chin and just held her tight for a long moment. He held her quietly, breathing in and out, as if just having her close was enough to ease the tension of the day. 

She felt herself gradually relaxing against him. She closed her eyes and inhaled his scent, feeling inexplicably at peace and happy in the middle of all the uncertainty.

His hand started stroking her back in soothing circles, until it finally came to rest on the back of her neck, holding her to him.

 

“Stay Felicity,” he mumbled into her hair. “We’ll figure this out together, but please don’t make me go chase you down – and believe me I would!” he added pulling back slightly so he could look into her eyes. 

She gave him a wobbly smile, but didn’t trust herself to say anything.

“Promise me you won’t do anything reckless like trying to do this on your own.” He looked at her earnestly.

She looked down, furiously willing her mind to come up with the right words.

“Promise me, Felicity,” he demanded again. An insistent finger under her chin urged her to look up, but she immediately regretted it when she saw his face. He looked so determined but also …vulnerable, she realized. 

With a low groan she closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest. 

‘He’s not playing fair!’ her inner voice of reason grumbled, as she felt her resolve crumble. ‘You have to go. It’s not safe for him if you stay.’

“Oh, shut up,” she mumbled into his chest, wishing – not for the first time – that she could silence her conscience. 

“Felicity…?” he said again, his embrace tightening. 

Felicity felt like she could actually see what little was left of her resolve dissolve and disappear.

Besides, who knew what would be the right thing to do?   
She was so tired, so confused.   
She didn’t actually need to promise not to leave, she thought dazedly. She could just promise not to leave tonight…   
After all, he did have a point about not making big decisions tonight.   
Yes, she could promise not to leave tonight… 

With a sigh she lifted her head to look at him. 

He looked so serious, so…intense. And there was something else there in his eyes. She couldn’t quite put a name on it, but she simply couldn’t lie to him, she realized. 

So she settled for action over words. She lifted up on her toes, looped her arms around his neck… and kissed him.


End file.
